True Calling
by xsilentangelx
Summary: AU When Max and Alec are forced to escape and evade, what changes does their relationship undergo? First fanfic so pls R&R to let me know if I should bother carrying on! Chap 13 now up!
1. Chapter 1

A/N This is an AU fic mostly based post Freak Nation. The first chapter sets the scene so it does kind of pick up during FN.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel, if I did it would be in its 6th season of an MA pairing!!

It had been two months since the siege at Jam Pony. Since Max had proudly and defiantly declared that the transgenics were gonna make a stand and take their place in society. But not long after she had christened TC their 'Freak Nation', the plan fell through. The government reaction was going to be quick and severe, with no room for any compassion or negotiation. The military had already stationed themselves outside the perimeters of TC and were just waiting for the order, to blow the 'freaks' sky high - zero tolerance.

So with a heavy heart, Max reluctantly agreed with the consensus to go to ground, to escape and evade - once again running away and going into hiding. They had been split up into small groups to avoid exposure – families, mated pairs, siblings, units. They would all remain under the care of their CO's, who in turn were able to keep Max informed on their unit status. Communication between one another was minimal and very basic – simply using untraceable cell phones. Everyone would go into survival mode, waiting for the unique signal to regroup, from either Max or Alec. In the mean time, Dix and Luke, would work on translating the runes on Max's skin and keep her informed on how they fit in with White's crazy cult agenda.

The residents of TC had bid one another farewell and left Seattle under the cover of night, leaving the military to storm in days later, only to find a ghost town. That had been eight weeks ago. So far, CO reports confirmed that everyone had found secure locations, either in towns and cities. All the transhumans had headed north to Canada, with a couple of X5 units, and were now in hiding remote Mountain areas. The X5 units stationed themselves in nearby towns and were able to supply the transhumans with the provisions they needed to survive.

Max and he had left together. Max, with the hope of finding her siblings, and he, well, the rest of his unit had already disbanded into mated pairs and siblings and as their CO he had arranged to keep tabs on them by phone, so he'd figured, he might as well tag along with Max. 'Seeing as how _she_ had no one better to run with' he'd joked. They travelled from city to city, week after week, searching. Sometimes, they would come across their fellow transgenics but never any of the O'9ers. 'Typical', he thought, 'leave it to Maxie's rugrat siblings to show the rest of 'em how to really escape and evade!!'

Alec rolled his eyes and glanced over at Max who was curled up, eyes closed, breathing even, in the passenger seat. He turned back to face the road as he drove on, looking for their next rest stop. Max had had to leave behind her baby, begging OC to hold onto it for her until her return, so Alec had procured a black beauty of a Cadillac. He'd hoped it would somewhat take the place of Max's Ninja, at least temporarily. It seemed to have worked; Max was the primary driver until her need for sleep finally overtook her, like it had earlier today. He would then take over whilst she rested. He cast another glance over at her and a small smile curved his face as he took in how peaceful she looked. Turning back to the road, his thoughts returned to their time on the run.

Leaving Seattle had put Max in a seriously suck-y mood, swinging wildly from depressed and withdrawn to super bitchy. She had told OC, Logan, Sketchy and Normal to leave TC with the rest of the 'hostages' from the Jam Pony siege, when they had faced off with the sector police, so that White wouldn't suspect their loyalty. The next couple of days she'd been able to let them know what was happening from the make shift HQ they'd made at TC. When the decision had been made to escape and evade, both Logan and OC had initially argued they would come with. But Max, in a moment of wisdom, had adamantly refused. She had known that White and his merry men would be going after her primarily, coz of her funky DNA. 'Thank you Daddy Sandeman, feel free not to do _me_ any favours!' She wasn't willing to risk their lives by having them associate with her anymore. OC had understood, oh she made it plenty clear what she thought of the idea but she knew her boo was doing the right thing in the end. Logan was a little more persistent and harder to persuade. It was the virus that sealed her argument in the end, she told him it wasn't going anywhere and she didn't have time to search for a cure. He knew he couldn't argue with that, nor could he expect her to go gallivanting around looking for a cure when she was responsible for guiding hundreds of hers kind to safety. She had said her goodbye's over the phone. 'Maybe if she'd been able to see them and hold them in her arms one last time before she left she'd have been in a better mood?' Alec wondered.

At first, he had tried to cheer her up, joking and teasing, trying to rile her up to take her mind off having to leave the only place she'd ever thought of as home. 'That hadn't been a raging success' he winced, recalling how she would yell at him to shut up and eventually she'd beat up on him. Then he _had_ shut up, not talking to her except for when she asked him anything. 'If I remember right, that didn't work too well either!' he mused. Max simply spent his periods of silence wallowing even further in the depths of her self pity. Things had come to a head when he had broken his vow of 'silence unless spoken to', to ask whether she wanted him to drive seeing as how she hadn't rested since they had left Seattle a week earlier. She'd seemed sluggish and her eyes were red, ringed with dark circles. He didn't think it was due to any crying; Max was too much of a tough nut to cry around him. But he certainly hadn't seen her sleep so he wondered whether the lack thereof was what was causing her bitchiness. Flaring with anger and indignation she had yelled at him that she was fine and quite capable of driving. However, as she'd turned around to storm out to the car, her legs had given out and he'd just caught her before she hit the floor.

'She sure as hell hadn't seen that coming!' Alec thought, with a smirk as he remembered the look on her face as she'd looked up at him from the cradle of his arms. She wore a stunned expression and her eyes seemed to radiate with disbelief, making Alec swallow back any smart ass remark. His eyes softened and he spoke to her with a coaxing voice "Hey Maxie, we don't have to go yet. How bout you let me rest a little while longer huh?" He had hoped she would let him use himself as an excuse to allow herself time to rest without showing her weakness. Instead of an answer, all he'd gotten was a convulsion that vibrated his own body through Max's. 'Shit! Seizures!' He scooped her up and stood up, carrying her over to his motel bed. Max's refusal to sleep had meant that he had taken the bed in the two motels they had stayed in so far.

Laying her down gently, he turned and searched her bags for her stash of Tryptophan. Coming back to her, he sat on the edge of the bed, and lifted her into a sitting position; her body racked against his with the force of her seizures. Alec quickly realised what sort of seizure this was, it sure as hell wasn't any seizure X5's usually suffered, it was a grand mal one. Too late, he now realised that her depressed state and refusal to rest had taken its toll on her now very vulnerable looking body. Alec fed her the pills and lay her back down. He murmured soothing words to her and stroked her hair back off her forehead. Looking into her eyes, he saw her unspoken plea. Offing his shoes, he lay down next to Max's convulsing body and took her into his arms, pulling her into his chest and holding her tight to restrict the force of her spasms. He had held her and spoke comfortingly all night, until long after her seizures had abated, and he succumbed to sleep himself.

Alec, still driving, once again looked across the seat towards the petite hellcat who was now soundly asleep. 'Yup, definitely come a long ways since then!!' he grinned. He could remember the way her body had felt against his, soft and warm, when he slowly woke the morning after that night. He had quickly but gently leaned over and watched her still sleeping form, a relieved smile creeping over his face – she had survived the seizures. Hell, she had actually slept for some six or seven hours!! Taking in her face, he could see it had done her a lot of good, her dark circles had faded and her skin was now glowing healthily… 'So even Maxie needs her beauty sleep!! Hmm, I wonder whether she'll be easier to live with now that's she's rested?' he wondered. He glanced back down at her, only to find large honey brown eyes gazing back at him. "Hey Maxie! Y'know, I think you should reconsider this no sleep policy you've taken up, this look suits you much OOF!" Alec found himself on the floor beside the bed with a furious Max glaring down at him! 'what the? What have I done now?' he thought incredulously.

"Shut up and back off Alec! I don't need to sleep, I don't need your advice and I don't need you!" she yelled as she got up off the bed. Alec stared at her disbelievingly. He felt the anger, that he had kept to himself whilst he'd tried to allow her time to adjust, bubble and rise. He forced it down.

"Max.." he started

"NO! Shut up Alec, I can't believe I had to let you tag along.." she snapped.

Well, that did it. "No, YOU shut the fuck up Max!" Alec yelled. "I am so sick of your goddamn wallowing. Get over it, get over yourself!" Max looked at him, her surprise at his anger evident in her eyes. Alec grabbed his shoes and began putting them on. "You've put up with me?! YOU'RE the one whose been acting like a grade A bitch since we left and all I've been doing is trying to help take your mind off things. FUCK! I saved your life last night! Your killing yourself Max!..Y'know what? Fine! You wanna be left alone so bad? I'm outta here..I don't need this shit!" He snatched his jacket off the chair and shoved his arms into the sleeves angrily. All the while, Max stood unspeaking, frozen by the vehemence of his words. Alec didn't even look back as he seized his holdall and strode out of the door.

Alec grimaced 'Fuck, I was SO mad that day! I thought she'd at least be a little grateful after that night!..but then again, it _was _Maxie I was thinking bout!'

Alec had left her the car 'think of it as a leaving gift' he thought miserably, as he was walking down the highway twenty minutes later. His anger had left him by now but he didn't regret leaving her, he just hoped she'd be happier now that she was finally rid of him 'no matter what I'd do, I'd always just be a useless screw up to her' he thought bitterly. He was forced from his musings when his ears picked up the approaching sounds of a car engine. He peered over his shoulder and then slowly turned himself around and stood waiting.

Max stood rooted to the floor, watching Alec's retreating form as he stalked away from her, out of the room and out to the highway. It wasn't until she couldn't see him any more that she broke from her reverie and cast a glance about her. Slowly, she sank back to the bed. 'Alec's left. Good. I didn't want him around anyway. He was just a pain in my ass and was bound to screw up sooner or later' she told herself. Shaking her head, she stood again and began to pack her own bags. She purposely refused to let herself dwell on what had just happened.

But moving past the window, she saw he had left her the Cadillac. Looking back at the highway, she admitted to herself that she had reacted badly. She had behaved badly this whole week. 'Why?' she asked herself. 'coz you wanted to hang onto all your experiences in Seattle, you didn't WANT to feel anything for anything, anyplace or anyone else' her inner self pointed out, 'you're afraid to live this new life you've been forced into, coz it hurts to get attached to anything again'. 'Seattle, my life, my friends, was the first time I ever got attached and it hurt like hell to let it go, I cant go through it again. It's best to stay alone' she decided.

She turned to get dressed and her eyes alighted on the unmade bed. Her mind instantly flashed back to the night before and then to Alec's face, his angry and hurt expression burned into her mind, she couldn't help but think about what had happened. She remembered how scared she had been, how vulnerable she had felt in front of Alec in her weakened state 'but he didn't hold it against me, he just held me, he knew what I needed and gave it without me asking' She could remember his own worry reflecting back at her as he held her to him and comforted her, reassuring himself as much as he was reassuring her. She could still smell him on her, his scent clinging to her skin and she remembered how safe he had made her feel. 'I hadn't felt like that since…..since I was a kid……with my own unit'… "oh god!" she whispered as realisation dawned. He was one of her own, the only one she'd really known since her unit escaped from Manticore. He knew, knew who she was - she'd even told him about Ben, something that she'd hidden from OC, Logan and Joshua. 'And he'd understood, just like he understood what I needed last night. I needed him, I _need_ him, and I've just driven him away!!!'

Max gathered her things and ran out of the room.

Alec watched as she climbed out of the car and walked over to stand in front of him, her eyes staring at a spot on his chest and not meeting his own gaze. When she finally she reached him, she didn't do anything at first, just stood there looking pretty miserable. He looked down at her dark hair and her hung head. Then he heard her speak. "I'm sorry Alec." Three words and he was ready to jump back in the car with her, but he figured he'd best wait 'til she asked him to, in case she'd just stopped to apologise to ease her own conscience and was still planning on leaving his sorry ass in the middle of nowhere-ville.

She looked up at him when he didn't say anything and saw the wary look in his eyes. "Please, don't leave, I… I..I want you to stay with me" she stammered, unable to voice that she needed him to stay. He relented, it wasn't perfect as far as apologies go, but it'd do. Besides, he didn't really wanna do the whole lone soldier thing; he wanted to stick around with Max. Since he'd met her and she'd named him, it had slowly dawned on him that he kinda needed to be around her, like as though being part of her life was what helped him define who he was, as Alec – more than the man X5-494 had been. 'Explains why I never left Seattle, why I stuck around all this time' he mentally shrugged. Pulling back to reality, he realised she was still waiting for him to say something. He studied her face carefully and then gave a small nod, watching the relief flood her face. He felt elated but tentative at the same time so he merely hitched his holdall up a little higher and gestured to Max that they both get back into the car.

They had been driving for a while in silence, their feelings still a little raw following the events of the past week. They had been stealing glances at one another to try and see what the other was thinking when Max finally mentally sighed as she realised she had to be the one who made the first move. She began, in a quiet voice, explaining to Alec, everything she'd realised back at the motel since he'd left. The look on Alec's face showed his surprise at her confessions but was replaced by a look of understanding and he'd told her as much.

Alec, seeing an inn they could stop at, pulled into the parking lot and grinned at the memory of that day. He walked into the inn and booked himself and Max in for the night before making his way back to the car. Things between him and Max changed rapidly after that day. The drive to the next town was filled with their amicable bantering, kinda like the kind they had shared the morning after her first confessional conversation with him about Ben. They had left Mopey Max back by the motel and since that day their relationship grew and grew. As Alec opened up Max's side of the car and puller her sleeping form into his arms, carrying her back to their room, he found himself wondering what their relationship was now. He knew they had become something else, but he didn't know if she thought so too. Was he still just her sidekick, or a real friend? Looking down at her, he frowned. 'X5's don't stay asleep in the company of friends though; her instincts should have woken her up. Maybe she thinks I'm her brother?' For some reason, he didn't really like that idea too much! He lay her down onto the bed and helped her out of her clothes and into her night things so that she was dressed in her boxers and a t-shirt. Then he stripped to his own boxers and climbed into bed beside her. His arms automatically encircled her as he felt her turn in towards him, her body instinctively seeking his.


	2. Chapter 2

As they lay there in the dark, Alec stroked Max's back softly, keeping her in the deep sleep she was in. He inhaled deeply, breathing in her scent, it was sandalwood and jasmine, from the shower gel she used, mixed with something feline and feminine that was all Max. It was so familiar now. He listened to her even breathing and felt her chest rising and falling. She hadn't slept in over two days so he knew she needed to. He, on the other hand, had slept like a log the night before so he knew he would be able to keep watch. He shifted to a more comfortable position and hitched Max higher up against him so her head was tucked under his chin. The last two months had taught him all he needed to know about Max's shark DNA and her weird sleeping patterns. He let his mind wander back as he thought back as to how that had happened.

They had been getting along much better; in fact he had soon felt he could definitely call them friends now. She didn't seem to blame him for all the suck-y things in her life anymore. There was very little yelling except when he had said something that was asking for it. He couldn't resist his smart ass comments and how her eyes spat fire at him when he did. There was no hard hitting either - aside from a quick slap on his arm when he was being 'such a guy!' as she put it. She now joined in with his teasing and joking around and smiled a heck of a lot more often now – bonus!

They were still travelling on the road, stopping here and there to rest, sometimes meeting a fellow transgenic, but mostly making phone calls and getting update reports on the rest of their kind: helping them stay safe, hidden from White and the trannie hating public. Not having shark DNA, he would get some sleep every night, sometimes in the car, other times they would check in someplace. He'd take the bed and she would sit next to him, keeping watch. He had tried to get her to sleep too but she said when she couldn't, she couldn't. However, being wary about what had happened last time, she had at least agreed to get some sleep every other day, when he would keep watch instead. He had argued he could catch up with any missed sleep when they were back on the road. It was probably some 6 days after their relationship had turned that first corner that it had happened, they'd turned another corner.

Alec awoke suddenly, his body was slick with a fine sheen of sweat and his heart pounded within his chest. He noticed he was breathing heavily, gasping in air and his mind was a flurry of images. He couldn't see anything and had no idea of where he was. His mind worked furiously to regain his senses and tell him what was going on. Then he felt it, warmth pressed against his back, strong arms crossed over his chest and a soft voice in his ear. He felt his panic begin to subside as he focused in on all of these sensations. One of the arms had begun to stroke his chest whilst the other reached up and stroked his damp hair. He inhaled deeply to steady his breathing and slow his heart rate down, and his nose picked up that scent.

"Max?" he asked quietly.

"Shh, its ok, it was just a dream, you're ok" her voice whispered in his ear "You're safe". As her words registered, he felt the muscles in his body slowly relax. He was now fully aware of his surroundings and what had happened. He'd had another dream, well, more like nightmare. He'd have them often enough, once, maybe twice a week back in Seattle. And now he'd had one again tonight. But his waking up experience was certainly different this time. Usually he'd wake up in a state of panic and his nerves would be on edge for the remainder of the night, until he had to force himself out of bed and get ready to face the day. He'd shower and use his time to purge his mind from the thoughts that would follow any nightmare and by the time he'd stepped out of his apartment, he'd manipulated his face to mask all those feelings, replacing it with his devil may care smirking expression. No one was ever the wiser of what lurked beneath that mask.

This time, was the first time anyone had ever seen him without it, his guard was down. It was also the first time he'd ever had anyone try to comfort him and it felt 'well, it felt kinda nice' he admitted. He had relaxed within minutes of waking up and was almost certain he could fall back to sleep gain if he wanted to. But he didn't, coz he was too busy wondering what Max thought of all this. 'She could so use this against me, call me a pansy ass sorry excuse of an X5' his mind groaned, 'or worse, she could pity him and baby him, making him _feel _like one anyway!' and his body tensed again as his fears grew.

"Alec, just relax. Go back to sleep. I know, you don't have to worry, its ok, it doesn't make you weak" she whispered into the silence "just human". Alec's eyes grew wide as he took in her words. 'She knows' his mind echoed, 'she understands' He shifted around slowly, her arms helping him turn but never letting him go. He looked at her face to see any signs of pity or recrimination and found nothing but understanding and concern. She gave him a small smile, one which he couldn't help but return and he whispered his gratitude "Thanks Maxie"

She drew him closer to her and he wrapped his arms around her too. His head resting in the crook of her neck, he tried to close his eyes and drift off to sleep but he couldn't. He'd never experienced anything like this before and he didn't know what to do so he just lay there, savouring it, the peace he felt within. A little while later, they were both still awake and aware of one another when she spoke. "You wanna tell me bout it?" Alec raised his head to look into her eyes. She waited patiently. His mind warred with him not to tell her, he'd never opened up to anyone before, not about Rachel, Psy-Obs, reindoctrination, isolation - none of it. But something from within his heart urged him to trust her. Maybe it was coz she was the X5 he'd known the longest on the outside. In Manticore, he'd had comrades like Biggs but they were all soldiers there and he'd only gotten in touch with the human side of _himself_ after Manticore went down – when she'd freed him.

Max had thought he'd decided against telling her and had closed her eyes, hiding her disappointment. So when his voice broke into the silence and they flew back open again he read the surprise in them and it encouraged him. "I get 'em every now and then. About different things" he said in a quiet voice "things that Manticore did to you?" she asked. He nodded "and things I've seen, things that I've done. People I've…" he trailed off and she stroked his back letting him know she knew what he hadn't said and didn't hate him for it. Her easy acceptance seemed to have opened a door that he let his soul step through. They spent the rest of the night talking, letting her see into the darkest recesses of his mind, showing her his guilt, his fears, his pain. And she did the same, confessing her own multitude of sins, her fears, her pain and she'd cried in his arms. It wasn't until the rising sun streaked the sky red and they fell silent, that he'd felt his own tears threaten and he choked back a sob. Max put a hand under his chin and softly spoke "Let it out Alec, let it go" and he had.

Alec pulled Max's sleeping body tighter to him and nuzzled her neck with his face as he felt the emotions within him rise. He clung to her for comfort, the same comfort he'd felt when she had let him cry. That day, he'd finally laid his ghosts to rest, the crimes he had committed as X5-494 and the crimes that had been done against him. He hoped it was the same for Max. in the silence that followed they held one another and contemplated the significance of what had happened that night. In letting one another see what they had allowed no one else to see, they had changed the dynamics of their relationship. They would never be able to go back to what it was before; they understood one another too well now, better than anyone else ever had.

They had moved on later that afternoon, having fallen asleep in the early hours of the day. But the Max and Alec that had stepped out of the motel room were no longer the same Max and Alec that had stepped into it the night before. They had both internally accepted that bonds had formed between them during their whispered confessions that would never break.

The hours had turned into days, days into weeks and weeks into months. During that time, they had become a well oiled partnership. During the day, they would have each others backs, making sure they stayed safe, working to keep their race, their 'extended family' safe and looking for Max's family. But he had taken to getting more sleep during their time in the car so that at nights, he could stay up a little longer with her. They still rented out single bed rooms as it cut down on expenses and they no longer minded being in close proximity with one another. During those hours, they lay side by side, discussing their plans, their hopes for the future, reminiscing their pasts. Every morning, they would wake up with Max pressed against his side, an arm around his waist, her head resting on his chest, whilst he hugged her to him. Even on the nights when she hadn't slept. It wasn't awkward; they both knew that it was an instinctive reaction to the safety, security and comfort they now found in one another.

Dix and Luke still hadn't been able to fully translate the runes for some reason, so they would sometimes examine the ones on her arms and legs and ponder over their possible meanings, throwing out ideas and suggestions. And when things got dark, he'd toss out a cheeky vulgar suggestion and distract her, and she knew that's why he did it, but she let him. He smiled to himself and closed his eyes, letting himself fall into a light sleep. 'So that's how I learnt all about Maxie's freaky shark DNA' he tiredly concluded, 'well, how I learnt all about Max, actually!' he corrected, 'and she finally got to know the real me' was his last thought as he succumbed to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_Th-thump th-thump th-thump_

Sighing and snuggling closer, Max concentrated on the steady heartbeat beneath her ear, the warmth surrounding her and the safety she felt in the circle of strong arms holding her. She lay there for a few more minutes and tried desperately to hang onto the last vestiges of sleep, but she knew it would elude her. Looking at her watch, she noted that it was still early, not yet 4am. 'Freakin' shark DNA' she mentally growled. Sighing in resignation Max carefully extricated her body from Alec's arms and settled herself down on her side beside him. She'd been sleeping a lot on her rest days, waking up with Alec in the morning, but today it just wasn't meant to be she guessed. Propping her head up on one arm, she studied his face and let her mind wander.

'God, things have changed so much. Not just the dynamics of my relationship with Alec, that's obvious enough. _I'VE_ changed so much. I like who I am now. I used to hate being a transgenic, curse myself for not being ordinary. Now I don't and I think its all thanks to this guy, my pain in the ass' she thought affectionately. Reaching up she smoothed a stray lock off his forehead and watched a small frown cross his features only to go as she stroked it away. 'If only OC could see me now, wonder what she'd say bout me sharing a bed with the resident 'hotboy'? She'd probably say its bout time and congratulate me' she grinned to herself. 'Course, I'd immediately correct her and tell her how we're not like that' she let herself imagine being able to have this conversation with OC. It saddened her that she didn't have the opportunity to anymore, for her own safety she'd told OC that she couldn't keep in touch; she wouldn't risk White finding out about her.

But one of her late night conversations with Alec had helped her deal. So she allowed herself these imagined chitchats to cope. 'Hmm, actually, I don't really know _what_ we are. I mean he doesn't fit into any one role anymore. He's was my friend but he's more than just that. 'Family then?' make-believe OC offered 'Well kinda, but I don't see him as a brother or anything and I don't think he thinks he's my brother either – he makes too many jokes about sexual propositions that no brother would ever make - unless he was from Kentucky or something' she joked 'and he's seen me half naked when I've been too asleep to undress myself for bed – never heard of no brother ever doing that. I know _I'd_ never let them' she shuddered 'oh but you'll let _him_' her friend pointed out to her before she faded away.

Max sighed as her mind wouldn't let her conjure up her friend anymore. She would have felt all alone were it not for his warm presence. Hmm, would she have been able to cope if he hadn't have stuck around with her? She highly doubted. 'I'm so used to having him with me now.'

It had all changed since that night she'd witnessed his nightmare. She'd seen him in the most bare, defenceless state. She'd felt the strongest urge to protect him and she had hugged his body to hers without any second thoughts. That need to comfort him had burned fiercely within her as she watched him writhe and whimper in pain. She'd heard his broken pleas and cries and had understood what was torturing his mind. It was in those moments that she realised that the selfish, insensitive, womanising,_ 'always alright' _guy she thought she knew was so much more complicated and sensitive than he'd ever let anyone know. His mask had cracked and what she saw surprised her, made her want to get to know who this guy underneath was.

When he'd opened up to her, it had been a massive gesture of how much he trusted her now and somehow, that trust was what had made her want to return the motion. It wasn't just that though; it was the fact that he was a lot like her. He felt remorse for what he'd done in the past, what he'd been ordered to do and what he had to do to survive. He had experienced pain and loss and he too, had been hurt by Manticore over and over again

She wanted him to see her for who she really was too. She wanted to show him how much they related to one another. So she'd allowed him in, to see what lurked under her own 'tough bitch' cover and awaited his judgement. She knew that if he wanted to, he could have blasted her for being oh so self-righteous when really she was nothing but a walking contradiction, a complete hypocrite – but he hadn't. He'd understood. He'd said that he regularly fought with the same demons she did and that just as her judgment on him had made him hide himself from her, she had done the same back to him. 'He was right too. Being around ordinaries, I've lived in fear of their accusations, and to protect myself, I lived by their rules' she reflected. Then he had shown up, seeming to live and breathe everything Manticore, and she simply hadn't realised that she shouldn't have judged him from an ordinaries perspective.

Looking back at him, Max let her eyes travel over his face. This Alec that she knew now was not the Alec she thought he was back in Seattle. Now, forced to live side by side, day in, day out, she'd been given the opportunity to discover the real deal. And she had, and finally they had been given the chance to build a relationship on an equal footing, and she had never appreciated anything more. She'd also rediscovered what it really meant to be transgenic, to be proud of it.

She felt his arm move in search for her. She had recently realised that he had grown accustomed to doing that. Even on the nights she'd keep watch. He'd reach out for her hand and clasping it in his; he'd hold it to his chest. Smiling at that thought, she met his questing hand and watched him as he unconsciously position it, before she lay back down on her side.


	4. Chapter 4

"Alec" she gently put a hand on his shoulder – he didn't wake up.

"Aleec!!" she shook him – nope nothing, nada.

"ALLECC!!" she yelled, dragging the covers of the bed and jumping on to sit on his thighs. She yanked him up by his shoulders but his eyes were stubbornly closed and he frowned. 'Unbelievable! Like havin' a big kid around!' she jerked his upright form back and forth to each syllable as she tried once more "AL-EC! WAKE–UP STU-PID-HEAD!"

"Whaaat?!" he groused, pulling her close with his arms and trying to rest his head on her shoulder. "Up and at 'em soldier! Forget we have a date with Dix and Josh?" she asked him, pushing him away from her and forcing his head upright again. Sulkily, he slowly opened hazel eyes to the sight of Max flashing a 100 watt smile at him. Her eyes were dancing and she was radiating with positive energy. 'Excited much Maxie?' he thought. His pouting lips couldn't help but turn upwards. He always felt a little proud of himself when he saw her happy – he just knew he'd had a hand in bringing out this side to Max.

Catching the smile appearing on his face as soon as he'd opened his eyes had confused Max and made her a little self conscious. "What?!" it was her turn to ask. Reaching up Alec rested his fingers near her mouth "It's a good look on you Maxie" he told her "Smiling" he articulated when she cocked her eyebrows at him. She blushed and squirmed a little under his gaze. He did this a lot, surprising her with his insightful observations, but she still wasn't really used to being spoken to like that. Sensing her embarrassment, Alec decided to help her out "Y'know it's almost as sexy as you when you're pissed" he joked. When her eyes shot up he saw the confidence back in them again and he laughed when she gave him the conventional slap to his shoulder.

Pulling away from him and climbing off the bed she began telling him about the phone call she'd just received from Dix. They had made all the necessary arrangements of when and where to meet and how they were going to get there. Alec nodded his head after thinking over the information and deeming it safe enough "Ok, so let's get this show on the road huh?" he walked over to his bag and pulled out the clothes he'd picked to wear today. Dark grey combats and a black t-shirt and he was all set. 'So long as it goes with my leather jacket' he told himself. He made his way to the bathroom to shower when Max cut in front of him.

"Uh-uh, it's _my_ turn to go first today!" and she quickly shimmied into the bathroom and slammed the door shut before he could reply. He knew he was a shower hog but so what, he shrugged, she was a bath fiend - she'd spend hours soaking! His mind having finally caught up with him he called to her through the door

"Y' know, if you want things to be really fair you oughta let me join you, we could share the hot water, you can scrub my back, I'll wash your hair.." he trailed off

"Dream on Alec – you wish!" she laughed back.

Alec turned back to pack their things, ignoring the niggling voice in his mind. It had started up a while back and it kept suggesting things, like just now, it had said 'Oh but you _do_ wish dontcha Alec?' Shaking his head clear he tried to focus on packing. The sound of the shower running broke his concentration though and he found himself imagining – wet heat, naked Maxie 'Oh man, I must really need to get laid!' He really didn't want to think like that bout Max.

Sure for a while there in Seattle, he'd wanted to just get into her pants, but now, he respected her and cared about her way too much to want to just bang her like he'd done with the chicks at Crash or Jam Pony. They were just a means of sexual gratification. He couldn't treat Max like that. 'Oh? Some kinda brother sister thing you got goin?' the voice in his head asked. 'What?! No!' he answered immediately. He just cherished the relationship they shared now and didn't want to fuck it up and lose it. 'She's, shes's… just a very close friend and I'm _not_ romantically attracted to her' he finalised. 'Right! So how does that explain you fantasizing bout her then huh?' that _annoying_ voice mocked disbelievingly.

The noise of the shower stopped and drew Alec out of his confusion and back to the task at hand. He busied himself whilst she remained in the bathroom 'she's probably drying off now, getting dressed' the voice needled him. Alec gritted his teeth and ignored the mental images that the words evoked. Course he wasn't helped by the fact that he had helped get her dressed for bed so he _knew_ what her body looked like, kind of. He was grateful when she finally breezed back into the room and he hurried to grab his shower, somewhat thankful for once, that she'd left little hot water and he'd have to make do with a cold one.

A few hours and many miles later, Max had been chattering excitedly to Alec about how she couldn't wait to see Joshua again. 'Shes all Joshua this, Joshua that, big fella, little fella – uggh!' It had been almost two months since she'd last seen him and she had been terrified of letting him go without her, but he had insisted they would both be safer with their own kind. He knew Josh meant a lot to her but he'd hoped he'd taken a greater place in her heart.

"I get it Max, you're excited" Alec grumbled

"Alec?" Max glanced across at him worriedly. 'What's wrong with him?'

Alec looked out of the passenger side window glumly. His good mood from this morning had vanished – poof!

"What is it Alec?" she asked. He looked back at her when he heard the concern and fear in her voice and saw it reflected in her face. 'Great, good job Alec, now you've gone and scared her and ruined _her_ happy mood' he cursed himself.

"I..its just…" he struggled with his conflicting emotions, "I knew that you'd be happy to see Josh again but…look, its not your fault,ok? Its mine… I just…I thought you were already happy?" he knew he wasn't making any sense and Max's look confirmed it.

"Just tell me Alec"

He had come to like that he could be honest with Max now. She didn't judge him straightaway; she'd just try to understand him. 'Maybe she can make sense of this'

"I just feel like I failed or something"

"Huh?"

"all this time, I kinda thought _I_ was making you happy ok? But I look at you now and…I guess I haven't been a _that_ good a friend" he said looking away dejectedly "you're all Joshua this, Joshua that, you should probably ditch me and go to ground with _him_" he muttered sulkily, but he was also starting to feel a little foolish.

Max cocked her head to one side as she scrutinised him in silence. He was refusing to look at her so she guessed he was feeling a little uncomfortable. 'He thinks I'm gonna leave him? Jeez, insecure much Alec?' she contemplated cheekily. But she couldn't ignore the happy warm feeling that buzzed around her heart. Sighing, she pulled to over and faced him.

"Alec, what are you saying? Are you jealous of Josh?"

"No!.." he scoffed defensively

"coz you have nothing to be jealous about" she cut him short and capturing his attention.

"I'm only gonna say this once so listen good. _Yes_ I'm excited to see Josh and the gang again but not coz I'm unhappy, do I look miserable to you?...I feel like one of those mom's visiting her kid who's left home - I just wana be reassured that he's doing ok…" she paused to guage his reaction.. she was getting through to him. "So stop making excuses to get rid of me. You're stuck with me now you stupid ass!" she joked

As she spoke Alec realised he had been really dumb…'Note to self: jealousy leads to making a complete ass out of ones self' he berated himself. He was glad when she had turned the whole embarrassing moment around with her light hearted comment at the end and took it for the olive branch it was.

"Damn Maxie, looks like you caught on to my devious plan there…and excuse me, but I think you'll find you meant to say 'you fine piece of ass'" he retorted. Max grinned back cheekily "Yeah I guess I coulda gone with that too" and she laughed at Alec's look of surprise before peeling them away in the car.

A/N I figured I'd put a bit more interaction between the characters in this chapter. I think I overdid the insightful stuff in the earlier chapters. Hopefully, this chapter demonstrates how much their relationship has changed now and its introducing the romance aspect now! I appreciate your comments though so let me know anything I could do to improve! Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

"Little fella!!"

"Hey big…oomph!" Max's greeting was smothered as she found herself hauled off her feet and crushed to her favourite dogman's chest. Joshua was letting yelps of delight as he swung her around. Max drew away slightly, giggled with happiness and threw her arms around him to hug him back.

"It's so good to see you again. I'm glad you're ok. I was really worried" she whispered to him as her elation settled.

"Hey Mole, Dix, wanna tell me how much y'all missed me?" Alec asked the observing transhumans.

"As much as I miss Manticore" Mole drawled as he withdrew his cigar momentarily to let out a puff of smoke and grin at Alec's mock look of pain. Dix merely smiled politely and offered him a welcoming handshake.

Obliging, Alec then turned back to Mole. Spreading his arms wide "Huggies?", he asked, a cheeky twinkle in his eyes.

"Bullet?" Mole offered back raising his shotgun to illustrate. Laughing aloud, the three shook their heads and turned back to see how successful Max had been in extracting her body from Joshua's embrace.

They were standing side by side, his arm drawn around her shoulder comfortingly. "Little fella no need to worry. Joshua happy here with own kind. Everyone up in mountains, free to move around, visit each other all the time, even have tea parties!" he reassured her "Kane and his unit in the town help bring food and supplies"

Max nodded her understanding. She had seen how sad he had been in 'Fathers' house. She had busted him out of one basement and locked him up in another. She knew he didn't hate her for it though; she was just relieved he was getting a taste of freedom, even if it was away from humans. She drew an arm around his waist and gave him a gentle squeeze as she smiled up at him.

"Ok ok, enough with the sappy sentimental shit, before I gotta break out the Kleenex" Mole groused. "Shall we?" he indicated to the small cabin that had probably once housed the Mountain rescue team or something. "Lead the way" Alec said as he retrieved their bags. He'd left the car hidden away in the woodland surrounding them and they'd walked the remaining distance, casing the area for any indication of danger– standard safety precaution.

They were sat by a small fire now. The windows to the cabin were boarded up so they weren't giving up their location and Mole had a few X7 guards stationed in the surrounding area. It had turned out they had been designed to listen to TAC officer directions, so Mole was pretty much able to get them to do his bidding. 'My own little kick ass platoon' he would often boast.

At first they'd all just talked about what they had been up to since they'd fled Seattle and recounting what they had heard about their fellow fugitives and any scrapes they'd gotten into. Josh and Max had gone into the kitchen area to rustle up some food. As she'd walked back carrying some of the plates Alec noted how she had relaxed a little more having spent time with Josh. 'She must have been really worried bout him. Wonder if she'd worry bout me like that?' he couldn't help but question. 'oh well, it ain't like I'm going nowhere' he thought as she settled herself beside him and they tucked in, eating off the same plate. Mole and Dix shot a curious look at them and then glanced back at one another at the sight.

"So, you figured out anymore of my runes Dix?" Max asked indifferently in between bites "its all kinds of ok if you haven't, this was just a passing visit an all, and I'm not in no hurry to know or anything.."

'Shes babbling again' Alec saw through her nonchalance. He could sense her tension, her posture, her rambling, her inability to look beyond the plate screamed nervousness. He brought the hand of the arm he'd drawn across the back of the sofa down and cupped her neck, his thumb rubbing her barcode soothingly. Max felt instantly more relaxed and she looked up and gave him a small grateful smile before turning back to Dix. So she'd missed the raised eyebrows of Mole, the studying look on Dix and the happy knowing twinkle in Joshua's eyes.

"errm, yeah, I've been working at translating the runes but its slow going what with no computer and limited reference books. Kane and Solo have got their units looking around for anything that might help but well, we're post pulse and it's an ancient language, you know?"

"Yeah, we understand. We'll keep an eye out too ok? So tell us what you've figured out so far"

This time, Dix, Mole, Josh_ and_ Alec looked a little surprised…all four wondered 'how and when did he and she become a 'we'?' Alec quickly dismissed the thought, not wanting to read too much into it

"Yeah Dixie tell me you at least got an idea of what White and his crazy cult have got in store" he said to regain their focus.

"Well…I dunno, it's a bit too vague. Ok see this rune here? Means death. This one? Domination. This one here? Blood and see this one here, this was one of your first ones Max, this means Protection" Dix said indicating to enhanced photo shots of her runes. "That's as far as I've got so far. The others are either just too vague to translate and can alter the meaning of the whole message or I've been unable to decipher them coz I don't have the information"

"So…the plan involves domination by causing death by using blood, and I need protection? Max tried to offer her possible explanation

"Like I said, its too ambiguous Max" Dix shrugged. Max felt cold creep down her spine as her mind churned the words over and over and her body let out a discrete shiver. Alec, whose hand had stilled but remained on her neck resumed his comforting motion, he didn't even realise he was doing it this time.

"We'll spread the word to the other CO's, get them to pass it on to their units that any info regarding the runes need to be passed up the ranks to you. Sooner we figure this bitch out, the sooner we can flip White off" he said decisively. The others nodded their head in tacit agreement. The tension hung heavy in the air and Mole took it on himself to change the topic, in his own pragmatic way.

"So pretty boy, when did you and her royal highness hook up? From the looks of things you guys have been going at it for a loooong time now"

"What?!" she gasped

"Excuse me?!" he spluttered

"What did you jus say?" they said together

"You heard me fine with your super ears! I asked you when you an' miss kitty cat decided to resume breedin' partner duties"

"What the heck are you talking about?!" Alec demanded irritably whilst Max flushed red with anger and embarrassment.

"You lookin' for an ass kickin Mole? coz I can give it to ya" she glowered.

"You ain't foolin nobody peaches. It's so obvious you might as well have walked in here with a sign above your heads" Mole drawled obviously not fooled. At their confused blank stares he shook his head disbelievingly and gestured to the two of them as he spoke "You telling me this is how you two usually are? Bullshit, you're claws ain't out, and _you _ain't bein an awkward son of a bitch." He scoffed "You guys walk in here all in sync and buddy buddy, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out, so fess up already!" Mole eyed them down, challenging them to refute his words, and they didn't let him down.

"No no, you've got it all wrong!" Alec began

"We just got over our issues, we're cool with each other – we peoples now" Max clarified

"Yeah, just friends, there's nothing like that between us, man, don't be grossin us out, I've just eaten" Alec continued

"We're sooo NOT like that, uugh!" Max reconfirmed.

All the while both felt themselves becoming a little irked with the other.

'There's no need for her to sound so offended by the idea of US..'

'Ass! What? Does he think he's too fly for me?'

They subtly edged away from each other and glared at the onlookers. Moles appeared unconvinced while Dix grinned to indicate he was givng them the benefit of the doubt. 'Denial' echoed in both their minds. Joshua meanwhile just laughed happily "Big fella happy little fella and middle fella friends now. Was worried fight all the time, miserable together. Little fella got a travel buddy, one of her own kind!" Max smiled appreciatively, nodding her head "Exactly! Just because I'm not tearing him a new one doesn't mean we're bonk buddies!" she said to Mole, levelling him down with a stare.

"Ok, ok, fine! I don't care either way so long it he's keeping you on a leash – you're easier to get along with when you're less bitchy" he retorted. Seeing the fire flare in her eyes and anticipating her fury he stood quickly "I'm gonna catch up on my beauty sleep" and with that he mock saluted Alec and made his way to one corner of the room. Joshua and Dix too, got up and began clearing things away and laying down their bedding beside the fire. "Night guys", "Fella's make bed from these" Joshua indicated to the bedding "See you in morning little fella, Alec, sleep well"

The two X5's were now sat on opposite ends of the sofa, having graduated there during the course of the conversation. They glanced over at one another awkwardly, unsure of what the other was thinking. Finally, Max spoke up. "It's your turn to sleep Alec, I'll just sit here and keep an ear open and keep the fire going" She didn't want to add fuel to Mole's fire by sticking to their usual sleeping arrangements. Nodding, Alec slowly rose and made himself a comfy spot in front of the sofa. He wasn't sure why but he was feeling a little disappointed about something, he couldn't quite place what.

The cabin grew quiet as the transgenics fell asleep one by one. Max, now lying on her back across the couch, had been listening to their breathing and identifying who had dropped off to sleep. She knew Alec was still awake, so she rolled over onto her stomach and looked down over the edge of the sofa at him. Her feline eyesight could see him clearly. He was lying on his back, his arms folded behind his head, his eyes had been staring up at the ceiling until he had sensed her watching and he glanced sidelong at her. Alec slowly turned to face her and their eyes held one another's for a long moment. She smiled at him and he returned it. Both felt the awkwardness melt away as they found their familiar comfort zones with one another. Alec's eyes slowly drifted shut to the sight of Max, as he let sleep overcome his and his earlier disappointment melted away. A short while later, Max who had been watching his chest rise and fall, saw his hand move and she let down her arm and let him claim her hand again.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N I don't own the song 'Step Up' by Samantha Jade or the lyrics, I just borrowed 'em!

Max and Alec had bid Josh, Mole and Dix goodbye earlier that afternoon. They had spent two days with them and it had been great! Alec was kind of reluctant to go but they had decided it was time to move on and continue their search for Max's brothers and sisters and see if they could investigate on the runes. Dix promised he'd keep them informed on any progress made on his end.

Max was driving again and she was being somewhat subdued. The conversation had been a little one sided until eventually, even Alec dried up on things to say without addressing the issue. Alec sighed inwardly; he really didn't like it when she was sad. He wished he could cheer her up or something, she was making _him_ feel despondent.

When they stopped to eat, Alec waited until they'd ordered before he broached her. They were sitting side by side and he stretched his arms languidly, before resting them along the top of the booth seats. He looked at her intently, waiting for her to look up at him before he spoke "C'mon Max, what's wrong? Let Uncle Alec make it all better" he said light heartedly and yet the sincerity behind his words penetrated.

Max remained silent for a little while longer, choosing to answer with a shrug instead, her hands reaching across the table to fiddle with the salt and pepper shakers. When it seemed she had arranged her thoughts in order, she began "I'm feelin weary Alec. I'm tired of bein' on the road all the time, searching for ghosts, worrying bout the people, _my_ people, that _I _let out. I'm tired of wondering what White wants, of doin all this sneak and creep. I… I miss my old life before I blew Manticore sky high. I miss Seattle. I miss my girl Cindy, all of us hangin out at Crash, JP…" she broke down then, her tears falling hard and fast. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, turning her to hold her against his chest. He almost missed her next sentence; muffled by her sobs as it was. "Does that make me a bad person? Coz a part of me wishes that I hadn't done anything?" Alec, whose cheek had been resting on her hair, lifted his head at that 'she's feeling guilty? That's why she's so down?' he lightly shook his head 'Maxie Maxie Maxie, you're gonna be the death of me!' Her sobs had died down as she awaited his answer.

Pulling away from her slightly, he drew the fingers of one hand under her chin and tilted her head up so she was looking at him. Her damp lashed eyes shifted away from his gaze feeling guilty under his scrutiny.

"Look at me, Max" He entreated. Her swirling chocolate brown eyes drifted back until he held them with his own green gold ones.

"Listen to me Max, it's ok. You're _not _a bad person just cos you miss somethin' so bad. That was your life Maxie, and you gave everythin' up for all of us, people like Josh even people like me!" he said self deprecatingly as he remembered how she'd given up her dream _twice_ for his sorry ass.

"I'll always be in debt to you Max, we all are. You sacrificed your dreams to bust us out of our nightmare. So you wanna feel a little regret for what you gave up? You go ahead and do that, as much as you want. Not one of us is gonna hold it against you, I promise!" he told her earnestly.

She let his words wrap around her and console her, getting lost in the depths of his eyes and the honesty of his words, and she felt her self loathing ebb away. Giving him an embarrassed, guilty smile for her emotional breakdown she withdrew from his embrace just in time for the food to arrive. As they ate, Alec regaled her with both his own and shared memories of the Seattle, the JP gang, hanging out at Crash every evening, drinking everyone under the table. They smiled at the bittersweet memories. By the time they'd left the diner, they were back to their engaging banter.

As Alec made his way to the car, his eyes caught sight of something and an idea formed in his mind. "Max?" he grabbed her arm before she could open the car door. She turned back to look at him and then quickly scanned the area for threat. "Relax Max!" he rolled his eyes at her. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he regarded her with a scheming look; his eyes were bright and mischievous. "I got an idea" he stated.

"Really? Did it hurt?" Max deadpanned.

Smirking, he steered them both away from the car as he continued "so we're both sick and tired of the same ol' routine right?" he indicated for her to nod her agreement. When she did, he continued "so how bout every now and then, we go out for the night, enjoy ourselves" At her uncertain look he pleaded with her "c'mon it'll be jus like old times. I got everything covered. I tell you what, I'll even pretend to be Cindy for ya, except the whole same sex orientation thing" Max chuckled before thinking the idea over in her head.

'I could do with the release. I get so tense, and now I can't even vent on Alec anymore! Ha, He said he'd pretend to be Cindy for me, god, who knew he could be so considerate?'

Looking up she said "So how we gonna do this? I can't go out and enjoy myself lookin like this" she pointed to herself. She was dressed in a black t-shirt, baggy combats and trainers. Alec looked her over and shrugged 'she'd look sexy in anything…wait, no I didn't mean it like that!' "Like I said, I got it covered!" pointing to the building they were in front of. It was a local department store. Max turned back to smile at him and he bowed at the waist, before offering her his arm "Shall we?"

A half hour later, Max and Alec stepped out of the washrooms of the store and were found themselves a little stuck for words.

"ummm"

"err"

"You look good" they blurted out in unison.

Laughing a little uneasily, they made their way back to the car, dumping the clothes they'd changed out of in the back and then climbed in. Alec took the drivers seat as Max slid into the passenger seat. He swallowed hard and struggled to drag his eyes from her long golden brown legs as she did so, her dress riding up a little as she sat down. Finally turning away, Alec concentrated on finding the club they'd spotted on the way in. Meanwhile Max was silently taking the sight of him in. 'combat style blue jeans, white KSwiss trainers, a white wife beater and his grey-brown leather jacket, simple but effective' she admitted.

OC had somehow appeared in her mind 'Girl, he's workin' that, boy be lookin fine tonight! Effective be the operative word!' Max smiled as she remembered the number of times her Original had made similar comments back at Crash. Looking at herself in the mirror she wondered what OC had to say bout her own ensemble. She had picked out killer 'hooker heels' as OC would have put it, a floaty mid-length dress in black and red print, and she'd loosely curled her hair so that her long lank locks now fringed her face in waves. She hadn't really bothered with too much make up, just a little gold dust to make her brown eyes stand out a little and a touch of cherry balm. She'd found herself a nice coat as well. 'Girl, you one fine transgenic mama when you choose to be! Cindy be thinking you and hotboy gonna be heatin up the house tonight!' OC teased. Max blushed as she wondered why her imagination wanted to hear that. She released the thought quickly though 'she didn't mean it that way, she meant we'd be turning heads is all'

"We're heeere!" Alec's singsong voice brought her back to where she was and she smiled as he ran around the car to open the door for her. Climbing out, she didnt notice Alec's eyes drift once again up the expanse of leg on show. He felt himself get a little hot under the collar but covered it up with a smile as he took her hand and they walked across the parking lot towards the club.

They had found themselves a place to sit near the pool tables and Alec had entertained her by challenging a guy for a game of pool. He'd won hands down obviously but what had made Max smile even more was how he passed his winnings over to her, telling her to spend it wisely! Taking his jacket off he assumed the role of OC. He sat around pointing out all the talent in the joint, females of course. He argued that he couldn't do OC justice ogling at men, he wouldn't have been able to describe them using OC terminology like 'honeys' and 'lickety chick'. Looking at Max's face as it glowed with laughter he knew he'd had the right idea in coming here. Max tried to recall the sad emotions she'd felt earlier, but all she felt was deliriously happy, 'here with Alec….incredible' "Wanna dance?" she asked him as he put down his emptied glass. He looked at her a little surprised at first but then he remembered how often she and OC would partner up and turn Crash out with their dancing. 'Well I did say I'd do it' he thought as he reached for her hand whilst he stood.

They danced their way into the throng of people in the club until they were surrounded. A reggae remix was blaring and they danced naturally but expertly. They were laughing as they moved, mirroring and complimenting one another's moves. When the track changed, many of the people who'd been dancing for a while cleared the floor, leaving more room for the rest. Alec and Max were in the zone though, letting themselves become absorbed in the music, the lyrics and one another's moves.

_Step Up  
_

Their bodies drew closer to one another; Max raised her arms as she moved. Their bodies moved in time to the music and Max danced her way around Alec's form, spinning around and grinding against him as she moved.

_  
Boy  
No matter what we go through  
You step up, I'll step up too  
It don't matter what the haters say _

In front of him again, she grabbed his wife beater and drew him close to her body again._  
As long as you are my boo _

_No matter how hard it gets  
This love will have no regrets  
As long as when we  
Steppin on the dance floor _

Alec spun her from his body and back to it again. His eyes drawn to the way the skirt of her dress fanned out and then wrapped around her upper thighs as he span her back to him.

_It's me and you  
_

Back to chest, he wrapped an arm around her waist and together they swayed side to side, both grinning happily.

_  
Feel the rhythm of the beat  
That's my heart  
Cupid shot me with an arrow  
From the start _

Feeling his body grow a little aroused at her lithe body, he pulled away.

_And you know that it's your love that's got me trapped _

Max turned to face him, making him step back towards her

_  
Every time I try to leave, you bring me back  
_

Still swinging her hips, his arms on her waist, they felt the lyrics say what they couldn't

_  
So much harder at times I cried a river  
You dried my eyes and brought me back to laughter_

_  
And when I lay next to you I want to wake up _

_  
And when I break up  
It's only to make up _

Shrugging of the moment of insight and breaking eye contact they moved with the beat. Both grinning happily as they forgot all their worries and responsibilities.

_  
Boy  
No matter what we go through  
You step up, I'll step up too  
It don't matter what the haters say  
As long as you are my boo_

She completed a complicated move, considering she had heels on, but being X5 helped!

_No matter how hard it gets  
This love will have no regrets_

She laughed as he crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her for showing off.

_  
As long as when we  
Steppin on the dance floor  
It's me and you_

Hauling her up by her waist, Alec watched and felt her body drag over his as he brought her back down and she stepped back from him._  
And when the symphony plays, I feel my feet  
Lifting from underneath _

Again he pulled her towards him, she half turned on her heel so she was facing him as he quickly tilted her over one knee

_  
You grab my hand  
Spin me around  
And right before I fall  
You catch me and you say _

She looked up at him in surprise, the suddenness of the move making her catch her breath but when their eyes met she found she couldn't breathe

_  
Baby, it'll be okay  
Just look into my eyes and we will make another day _

Before either could dwell on the moment he pulled her upright again and they let the music chase away any confusing thoughts. Both avoided eye contact as they danced, preferring to just think about dancing.

_  
Boy  
No matter what we go through  
You step up, I'll step up too  
It don't matter what the haters say  
As long as you are my boo_

Her face was flushed and her eyes shone brightly. Her hair curling seductively around her face and flowing down her back. Alec took in the slight sheen of moisture on her shoulders and collar bone from their exertions. 'She's so fuckin beautiful'

_No matter how hard it gets  
This love will have no regrets  
As long as when we  
Stepping on the dance floor  
It's me and you_

Max couldn't tear her eyes from the way his body moved so fluidly, the wife beater clinging tightly to the muscles on his chest and showing off his washboard stomach. His eyes shining green and intense 'He's gorgeous, it really should be a sin'

Their mouths grew a little dry, wondering why things were starting to get so complicated between them.

_  
And if we don't step up  
We'll lose our groove _

They raised their faces to look at one another, the lyrics saying what their eyes seemed to convey

_  
So confused, don't know which way to move  
Hold my hand and let me know that you feel me too_

Alec drew her closer to him as their eyes were locked in an intense dance of their own.

_  
Look into my eyes and tell me  
Baby I love you _

You'll never get wet  
'Cause I'll be your umbrella

The world narrowed to just them, as they circled one another, neither one able to break eye contact. _  
And we can make it through any kind of weather  
If you step up_

_I'll step up_

Their heartbeats were racing and their thoughts were a whirlwind of confusion, desire, fear, hope. But neither was willing to risk their hearts and neither wanted to lose what they had with one another.

_  
Boy  
'Cause I'm trying to be with you forever  
_

'Would she accept it if he made a move on her?' he wondered 'I couldn't take it if she couldn't take it and ran like she usually does. No I'm gonna wait for her to make the move this time.'

_Boy  
No matter what we go through  
You step up, I'll step up too  
It don't matter what the haters say  
As long as you are my boo  
_

'Is he feelin this too? If he does why isn't he doing something?' Max's thoughts raged. 'god, what would I do if he did, what if he doesn't do anything? That'd be best right? Things are too good between us to complicate it with this'

_No matter how hard it gets  
This love will have no regrets  
As long as when we  
Stepping on the dance floor  
It's me and you_

Both knew when the moment had gone; they'd taken too long being indecisive. Breaking the deadlock, they grinned to ease the tension and returned to the dancing they had been comfortable with.

Max laughed as Alec began showing off with street moves he'd picked up off the TV. He flipped back and then dropped to the floor, running his legs underneath his body.

_Step up_

_Step up_

_Step up_

_Boy  
No matter what we go through  
You step up, I'll step up too  
It don't matter what the haters say  
As long as you are my boo_

_No matter how hard it gets  
This love will have no regrets  
As long as when we  
Stepping on the dance floor  
It's me and you_

The onlookers whooped and hollered before joining in, taking turns busting moves, and when the track changed they both accepted that things were going to stay the same. As the night wore on and they danced to track after track, their feelings of doubt and disappointment disappeared and both were immensely relieved that things between them were still good.

A/N I hope you liked this chapter, I know I'm dragging out the will they, wont they? but I kinda know where I'm gonna go with this story and I'm afraid this is all part of the steps to getting there. I know the song isn't particularly club-y but I felt the lyrics were appropriate enough.


	7. Chapter 7

"You have the most amazing eyes! I could get lost in them forever!" she cooed.

"Really?" he laughed "Well, you have the most amazing…" his eyes looked her over, letting her know what he was thinking, before settling on her face "smile?" he teased.

Laughing, she leant closer "Maybe we can come to some kind of arrangement" his smile grew wider and huskily he replied "I'd really like that!"

'God!! I can't believe I have to sit here listening to this drivel' ok so she didn't _really_ need to be there but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene. 'Why's it always blondes with you anyway? What are we brunettes not hot enough?' she scoffed at the thought 'please, I could have guys queuing a half mile round the block for a shot with me, but at least I have more self-respect than that… that...dumb blonde floozy!' she spat. She felt herself grow increasingly agitated as the blonde sidled even closer to Alec. Her face flushed as she experienced an unidentified emotion when she saw Alec shift on his stool to allow her closer proximity to his body.

Max's eyes were wrenched from the scene as OC materialized before her eyes.

'Hey boo, long time no see. You feelin' ok?'

'Hey OC, yeah girl, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?' she said trying to sound confident and failing miserably, the uneasiness in her voice was blaringly obvious.

'Hmm, OC ain't too sure but she be thinking you's comin down with somethin' OC mused, a knowing twinkle in her eye

'Oh really? Ok, I'll bite. And what oh wonderful doctor OC, do you think I'm suffering from?' she said joining in with OC's game,_ anything_ to keep from looking at the sickening sight at the bar.

'First of all, doctor? Hell no! I can't work no briefcase and stethoscope outfit! It's Nurse OC. Ain't no lickety chick ever been able to resist when OC's got her nurse's outfit on!' OC clarified making Max shake inwardly with laughter.

'As for what you suffering from, I diagnose an acute case of the green eyed monster, but boo, that's not what's got me concerned' she said seriously.

Max had been about to protest but hearing the gravity in OC's voice, her complaint had halted in her throat and she waited to hear OC's verdict

'What's got OC really worried is the chronic denial you got infectin yo' mind girl!' OC whispered in the voice she always used when she was pleading with Max to heed her words. Max stared long and hard into thin air, where she could picture her Cindy. She felt something rise within her, screaming to be let out, but she stubbornly fought against it. When OC saw her struggling with herself she sighed and shot Max a baleful look. 'Think girl, this is just what you did with Logan and look how that turned out' Nodding over to Alec 'over there is your second chance, to get it right. Don't let yo denial cost you boo. The longer you fight it, the more likely it'll be that fate or something'll take it away forever'

Max swallowed hard. Her mind went over OC's words again and again. She wasn't stupid; she knew deep down that it was her subconscious talking to her really. 'Is is true? Do I…could I?' she asked herself 'I care about him sure, but I don't, I couldn't possibly…' she took a big gulp of her drink, refusing to let herself actually think the thought out loud, repressing it even within the confines of her mind. Glancing back at Alec and the blonde for the thousandth time that night, she felt something clutch her heart and yank it as her eyes followed the blonde's hands as they stroked Alec's thigh and upper arm. She swallowed painfully at Alec's appreciative expression and stood abruptly, ignoring OC's head as it shook disappointingly. She grabbed her leather jacket and left the club from the backdoor.

Once she got outside she looked around to see if she was alone, she was. Jumping, she yanked herself up onto the fire escape and climbed up to the roof of the building. It was raining, that deceptively fine rain that soaked you right through before you even knew it, but Max didn't really care. She stood there, letting herself grow steadily saturated. Her head was flung back and she wrapped her arms around herself protectively, as she searched the dark clouds that seemed to be mirroring her tumultuous emotions. Her eyes were stinging a little but she blamed it on her staring up into the rain.

It had been two weeks since they'd agreed to a night off to unwind once in a while. They'd been out another three times since but each time, it had been her and Alec. There was never anyone else getting in between them. 'It's always been us; it's supposed to be _just_ us' Until tonight. She cursed the blonde haired intruder repeatedly and then she cursed herself. Alec had looked over at her, waiting for her consent, when _she_ swanned over asking him if he'd mind dancing with her. But instead of telling him how she felt, she'd shrugged casually at him so that he'd think she _didn't_ care what he did. That she _wasn't_ disappointed and she _wasn't_ feeling abandoned.

She didn't even know why she had done that, why she felt the need to deny those feelings. It wasn't like it meant more than just the fact that she didn't want to be left alone, it had nothing to do with the fact that she didn't want to share his affection with another woman. And even if it was, it was only natural considering they'd done everything together for the past ten weeks, of course she'd gotten used to having his undivided attention. 'This really sucks; I should never have let myself grow so accustomed to having him around. What did I think I was doing? What did I think was gonna happen to me when he found himself a girlfriend he'd rather be with?' Truth was she'd never even entertained the possibility, it had never entered her mind 'It's gonna be back to being on your own again that's what! He'll drop you and he won't even look back when that day comes' she thought tragically. She shuddered, more because her thoughts terrified her rather than cause she was soaking wet.

Alec smiled emotionlessly, but disarmingly all the same at the blonde chica slobbering all over him. He wanted to roll his eyes at the drivel she was spewing. He grimaced inwardly as he recalled a time when he hadn't really cared what a girl had been saying so long as he'd gone back to hers that night. For some reason or another, he couldn't bring himself to make do with that anymore. 'Wonder what Max is doing?' he thought for the fiftieth time already. Looking back to where he'd been sat he noticed Max wasn't there anymore. He scanned the club for her, feeling himself grow angrier with her than he had been when she'd so casually fed him to this wolf in sheep's clothing he thought as he eyed the blonde with hidden disdain. She danced horrifically; it was like trying to manoeuvre with a grandfather's clock, she was that wooden! Course at first, cause he'd been that so annoyed by Max's casual shrug off he'd tried to annoy her, make her see what she was missing, by making a play on the girl but it obviously hadn't worked! He found himself missing _her_ instead. He sighed inwardly.

From the corner of his eyes, he caught a flash of dark brown cascading locks at the far end of the club. It was dark but the figure was roughly the same height and size as Max. His keen eyes caught the faint outline of a man too, they were dancing! 'Well that's just great Maxie, here I thought we'd have another great night out together and not only did I get lumbered with _her_, no thanks to you, but you're off swanning around with some…' his angry rant was momentarily cut short by the vision before him. His eyes narrowed 'some rat bastard, it would seem'. The man had his hands on Max's ass and he was grinding himself against her.

Seeing red, Alec stalked towards them, ignoring the confused 'huh?' that squeaked out of Blondie. Angrily, he tore the guy away, shoving him away from her, resisting the urge to break every bone in his hands for daring to touch Max, before he turned back to her. 'Oh shit!' he thought; his widening with surprise as he instantly saw the major boo-boo he'd made. 'She doesn't even look like Max, she has _blue_ eyes and she's..she's pale! What the hell were you thinking, moron?' he scolded himself.

She was staring incredulously at his crazy jealous interruption "Umm, sorry" he began, his hand scrubbing the back of his neck embarrassedly, but the look on her face gave his confidence back to him "I couldn't help myself, you're way too good lookin' to settle for a guy treatin you like that" he said charmingly, smiling at her when he saw he had her hook line and sinker. "Uh-huh?" she nodded her head dreamily. Glancing around he saw another man who seemed to be interested in the girl, judging by the dark looks he was getting from him. Grabbing him and shoving them together, he said "Now this guy'll show you how to really treat a woman!" he quipped before he hightailed it out the back exit, not catching the looks of disenchantment and gratitude he'd gotten from his unexpected move.

When he got outside, he shrugged himself into his jacket and scanned the alley for any other surprises. Seeing as there was no one else out there, he took a deep, cleansing breath and exhaled slowly, trying to shake off the feelings that had surged through him when he'd thought that Max… he shook his head as the emotions threatened to rise. As he let the rain cool him down, his heightened senses alerted him to another presence. Concentrating, his senses led his eyes to the roof. Smirking as he realised who would be up there, he made his way up silently, so as to sneak up on her.

As he reached the top, he was arrested by the sight. Max looked distraught. She was just sitting there, soaking wet. Her arms were wrapped around her, knees drawn up under her chin. But it was her head, as it hung sadly that had him arrested. He wasn't entirely convinced it was just rainwater running down her face. He cleared his throat as he padded over to her, reading the emotions on her face as she watched him approach. 'Relief, sadness, disappointment….hmm, interesting sequence' he thought. He eased himself down beside her and sat there patiently. He knew that eventually, she'd come out with whatever was bugging her this time. However, he hadn't expected it to be what came out of her when she did decide to speak

"Come to tell me how you won't be back 'til tomorrow?" she asked.

"huh?"

"Please Alec, don't even bother pretendin. It's cool, I'll just see you tomorrow, 'kay?" she said as she started to get up

"Woah wait, where am I going?" he asked her as his hand restrained her from getting up.

"With Blondie of course" she said, her disgust barely disguised as she sat back down. She paused to give herself a chance to shove that weird feeling away. Forcing a smile to her face, she turned to look at him "maybe you're more like OC than we realised; she was always letting me know the same thing whenever she'd picked up a honey. Funny huh?" 'Not if it makes you as miserable as this' Alec couldn't help but reflect.

"So anyway, I'll see you tomorrow? I'm gonna go back to the motel, I wasn't really enjoyin myself tonight…for some reason" She muttered the last part but Alec caught it and he started putting things together in his mind.

'She keeps sayin' that! Why am I going to go off with 'Blondie'? Hell I'd forgotten her name the moment she began dancing. Ok, so maybe that's what the old me would have done….and I was kinda behaving like the old me' he admitted grudgingly '…but only coz she was behaving like old Max!' he added petulantly. As it dawned on him, he couldn't help but grin widely 'Sooo, Maxie didn't like blondie cutting in; she was just petending not to care! And just now, she was so upset coz she thought I was gonna ride off into the sunset with that…that lump of wood?!..and leave her on her own, coz that's just what I'd have done…a lifetime ago, and even OC had done the same so she hadn't really expected anything different just cause I'm her friend too'

Turning back to her, he saw that she had stood now and was making her way across the roof back to the fire escape. "Hey Maxie, wait up!" he called as he jogged up to her "you weren't planning on havin any company tonight were ya?" he asked. She glared at him "No!" "Great, so you don't mind if I come with do ya?" she tilted her head looking at him with a confused expression on her face. He shrugged "Blondie just didn't do it for me. Did you see her dance? God my left little toe has more rhythm!" he saw the corners of her mouth curve a little at that but she still being stubborn. "Truth Max?" she nodded her head "Humans don't do it for me anymore. I can't get what I want from them".

"What do you want Alec?" she asked.

He stared at her for a long moment just wondering why the niggling voice in his mind was screaming 'You! Someone just like you!' His chest tightened and his heart beat a little faster before his sensible side kicked in and warned him 'Don't say anything to screw up this friendship Alec. You let you're guard down once and look what happened to _her_. And anyway, who says she wants you like that….how can you even be sure you want her?' "I'm not really sure yet Max" he told her honestly "but it sure as hell wasn't that two ply, three by four number down there!" he grinned. She laughed back, feeling immediately back on balance and carefree again. As they made their way down the alley, Alec grabbed her hand and pointed to a couple of jet black kittens further down the moonlit, rain clogged passage. "Check them out Max, remind you of something?" She watched as the two kittens playfully chased one another's shadows, stalking one another and then rolling around with each other amongst the boxes that lined the pathway. 'They make a good team, just like Alec and I' she grinned at Alec as she caught the smile on his face that told her he'd been thinking the same thing. "Its like I always said Max, we're better off with our own kind" he said as he stepped ahead, leaving Max to wonder what exactly, he had meant by that.

A/N Thanks for the feedback I've had, especially Bullet, you're a sweetheart! Hope you like this chapter. I know they're totally out of character but I always wondered how it might have gone if the denial issues Max and Logan had in the show, had happened with Max and Alec.

I was gonna wrap this up over the next few chaps but now I wanna develop their relationship a little more first. If you have any suggestions, then please let me know! I could do with some inspiration! Til next time!


	8. Chapter 8

He looked up at the sight before him, grinning appreciatively. 'Now that's a fine lookin ass if ever I saw one!' Smirking, he considered the damage Max'd inflict if she knew what he was doing and thanked the fact that she was currently busy scaling the building they were about to infiltrate and help themselves to the financial services located therein. They were running low on cash. He'd saved quite a large amount from his pool sharking days and she, well, she'd had her benevolent benefactor Logan. He couldn't really remember how or when Logan had become such an irritating presence in his life. It seemed like he'd always rubbed him up the wrong way. But anyway, regardless of where their small fortune had been amassed, it was exactly that – small and dwindling fast. So they'd taken it upon themselves to relieve this thriving company, of its monetary burden.

'damn that cat suit is hot!' the voice in his head said bringing his mind back to earlier thoughts 'I know, its like its sprayed on' he commented back.

He had grown to accept that both he and the annoying voice residing in his head were physically attracted to Max and he'd taken to having such observational conversations with it from time to time, but he insisted it was purely because he hadn't gotten any action in over 3 months. The voice begged to differ but he figured they would just have to agree to disagree on that point.

Having reached the window they had picked out to enter from, Max signalled she would go in and scope the area and indicate when he should join her. He nodded and watched as she slid her body into the small opening much like a cat. Moments later, she appeared at the window and motioned for him to join her. When he stepped into the room, he made a cursory scan of the area before he padded over to where Max was. She had already located the safe and was walking around it, looking for any external security features. There was a silent tripwire attached to the base so they would have to input the correct 6 digit security code to get access, unless they would rather have security and sector cops on their asses…err…nope, guess it was gonna be a case of in and out without raisin so much as an eyebrow. Alec pulled a small electronic device he and Dix had put together during their two day rendezvous and attached it to the safe. It bypassed the safe's own built in computer mechanism, overriding its security and eventually it would display the security code for Alec.

As it was doing its thang, Alec couldn't help but smile a little as he recalled showing this baby to Mole and Max. They had both looked at it with admiration. Ok so maybe it more of a glimmer where Mole was concerned. But what made him smile was how Mole had looked back at them and said: "what can I say, you're a regular 007 and this guy fancies himself as Q" that one comment had lead to a long debate as to how easy he could have been a real life Bond, if not even better than all the Bonds put together. Alec had also tried to convince Maxie to be his Bond girl telling her she'd finally get a chance to be with a _bona fide_ handsome, suave, charismatic bachelor. She had turned him down though, of course, saying she'd rather be M and boss him about! 'Maxie Maxie Maxie' Alec mentally shook his head in amused frustration.

A throat quietly cleared causing him to glance at Max and he caught her questioning look. 'What?!' he thought and he almost frowned back in confusion before he followed her eyes down and realised that while his gizmo had called up the code, he'd been standing around with his head in the clouds instead of putting it in. Giving her a small embarrassed smile, he hurriedly entered the code, which broke into a more confident grin as the safe beeped its acceptance. Rolling her eyes she stepped in front of him, shoving him away playfully and began emptying out the safe. As she did so, she couldn't help but reflect at how great it felt to do this and not feel the terrible guilt and self loathing she would have felt eating away at her had she been in Seattle still, with Logan.

A while later, back in the confines of their room, and dressed in their comfier bed clothes they were counting their loot. Alec was sitting up against the headboard, whilst Max was sprawled out on her stomach beside him.

"Whew Maxie, I think we rinsed 'em out! We've got enough to last us a good while"

"And in style!" she quipped happily.

Stuffing the money into their holdalls and lining their wallets and their jeans, in case of emergency, they settled back down to watch TV. Max had rotated on her stomach so that her head, resting in her hands, was at the foot of the bed and her feet were crossed at the ankles and rocked in the air, disturbing Alec's view of the screen. He batted her feet away causing her to look back at him over her shoulder with a rebellious gleam in her eye. Turning back around, she continued kicking and waving her legs as though she had no idea she was disturbing him, until Alec grabbed a foot by the ankle and stroked a finger down the curve of her foot. She couldn't help but try and jerk her foot from his grasp in reaction. Grinning vengefully, he began tickling her foot mercilessly, grabbing it with either hand whenever she kicked it free and swapping to the other foot when she was successful in writhing it away. Both were laughing uncontrollably by now.

"Oh god! Alec stop!" she laughed and then let out a small shriek which made Alec grin even more. He was almost positive no one had ever seen Maxie like this, ever! He let go of her foot, pounced on her, spinning her around in her momentary surprise and within seconds he was tickling her sides instead, making her squeal even louder with laughter and beg harder for him to stop. He didn't relent even after he'd had her telling him how sorry she was and promising not to do it again but suddenly she went stiff and he looked up at her curiously. She ignored him to tilt her head and stare at the TV and he followed her eyes. He felt something smoulder within his chest as he watched the blue and white stripes float across the screen, realising what had caught her attention so easily as he listened to Logan's frustratingly condescending voice filter from around those stupid 'eyes'. He lifted himself away off her and saw her wriggle back to a comfy position, her eyes not leaving the screen once. Sitting himself back at the head of the bed, he looked away from the scene dejectedly.

'Why the heck am _I_ unhappy for? What's new there anyway? She's always been like this over the guy' he glared at Max's back, for a moment disliking her before he shook that thought away. 'It's not her, it's them. They're so wrong for each other; they only make one another miserable'

'So why do _you_ care so much if it does?' the voice in his head asked. It was getting to be such a pain at questioning him that he was thinking of calling it Biggs coz Biggs had been a wise guy like that. 'Coz she deserves better than…this' his eyes flickered back to her. She was lying on her stomach; her head held up in her hands, propped up on her elbows, head tilted. 'Smitten with a guy on TV… ' he thought disgustedly 'a guy she can't touch anyway and even if they could, he'd still sap the life out of her and make her so…so repressed! He fumed. He was getting angrier with himself too for getting so worked up over it. Try as he might he couldn't fight the feelings that had surged through him when 'Eyes Only' had rocked up.

'Hmm, y'know your eyes are lookin greener than usual today, jealous are we Alec?' Biggs asked.

'No, like I said, she deserves better'

'Someone like you maybe?' Biggs observed innocently

'Yeah. Wait, no, no…I don't mean me, I mean I would be a step up sure but we wouldn't, we don't work like that'

'So why get _your_ knickers in such a twist? Face it bud, _you're_ the one who's smitten' Biggs taunted. Alec refused to answer back to this observation though he felt something inside him stir as some of what had been said hit home. 'Maybe I, I dunno' he wondered to himself. The only woman he'd ever loved was Rachel, none of the women he'd been around since had held any affection in his heart, until Max. 'But I loved Rachel right? Yet that felt nothing like this, this is just….' His eyes drifted back over Max 'something else!' and with that he fled to go to the bathroom.

Listening to Logan drone on and on Max found herself lost in her own thoughts. At first, she'd been so shocked to hear his voice again she'd been eager to listen to it. She'd automatically turned to it for the familiar feelings of comfort and guidance she usually found there. But as he'd begun his caped crusader speech she realised that she had now become disillusioned by Logan. She no longer felt comforted or guided by him. In fact as she sat there, she realised that before Logan, she'd never felt guilty for being transgenic, she'd never felt despair at her own kind. Logan came along and made her believe he could guide her to the path of righteousness and that not only would he find her family, by following his example she would be more fulfilled. And she had followed him, with all her heart and soul, but all she'd found was self deprecation over and over again. For stealing to get by, oh no, that was bad unless it was for the cause, for being made in a test tube, for getting caught and letting him think she was dead, for the virus, for having friends she could touch and would rather hang out with, for having killed in her past, something that she had been made to do, for her heat…..all of it and many, many more. He had made her feel so bad about everything it was a wonder she even missed her old life. Looking back, comparing how she felt now and how she'd felt then, she knew for certain Logan had never made her as happy as her time on the run with Alec had made her. 'How could I have loved this man? Was I ever really in love with him? How the hell do you even know if you're in love?'

She wasn't being selfish, she realised how much Logan had done for her and her kind but it was always done with an expectation of something in return, he'd find her family in return of her services, he'd saved her life, to be able to say that he'd done it and not Alec, he'd helped her hide Zack but only if she chose to stay with him over her brother, he'd helped bring down Manticore, not because he cared about them, he'd never even met them, how was he even sure they wanted saving? No he'd done it because he wanted to be the hero.

Max sighed as she heard Logan's voice being replaced by the show they had been watching. Sitting up, Max glanced around for Alec.

Alec had stayed in the bathroom until he had heard the end of the bulletin and then, after a quick glance in the mirror to smooth over his features, he walked back into the room. He saw that Max was waiting for him and one look at her face and he just _knew_ she'd want to talk about Logan and how much she missed him blah blah. So he forced himself to appear to be indifferent as he approached the bed. She switched the TV off and climbed into bed beside him, signalling the end of that activity. Turning to face one another he patiently watched her bite her lower lip and glance downwards as she thought of the words to begin with.

"Alec?"

"Yeah?"

"ummm, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Yeah"

"Well, how do you know that you loved Rachel?" she asked

Alec was floored by that comment. He hadn't anticipated that. Max looked up at him through her lashes, trying to see his reaction. She knew it was a sensitive topic, but she had been wondering whether or not she had ever loved Logan at all and was hoping that Alec, having definitely been in love before, would be able to tell her what it felt like.

"I… I just do" he replied weakly.

Truth was, whilst in the bathroom he'd been wondering the same thing. Had he loved Rachel? He thought he had but now, with Max, he was feeling things he'd never felt with Rachel. They hadn't been together long and he didn't really know her as well as he knew Max. The whole thing confused him and left him feeling guilty too. Had Rachel died because of a man that didn't even love her? Had they really loved each other or was it just an infatuation with one another? He didn't want to believe that because it meant he'd never been loved before. But he knew that she hadn't even known him for who he really was…she'd been attracted to a part of him, the side he'd allowed for her to see but would she have loved him if she knew who and what he was?

To say Max was disappointed by his answer was an understatement. So she tried to pry it out of him

"How do you know she loved you then? What did she do?" she asked innocently. Unbeknownst to her, Alec was slowly growing increasingly defensive, 'Why the heck is she asking me all this? Has she always known what I'm still tryina figure out and wants to have gloating rights that her love life is more real than mine?'

"What do you mean what did she do?" he said evasively

"I…I'm just trying to find out how you knew you loved her and that she loved you back.." she trailed off as she detected something behind his eyes that belied the calmness they displayed. There was something wrong with him.

"Well, why don't you go first and enlighten me, Maxie? Tell me how _you _know that you and Logan love one another?" he snapped back as his frustrations got the better of him and he put up his defences.

She had no answer to that. Those were her own doubts thrown back to her! Why was he being so damn cagey, he never kept things from her before, not since they'd stopped hiding from one another. Dammit, he was supposed to make things clearer for her and help her figure things out, not…..just…not be like this! Max felt her irritation consume her and she decided to change tactics and tried to antagonise him into telling her.

"What, can't think of anything to say so you're throwing this at me? What are you so afraid of Alec? That I might find out…" but before she could continue he flung himself from their bed and was shoving his clothes on.

"Find out what Max?" he demanded. She sat up, staring at him with regret and confusion. She didn't know what she'd done to piss him off so bad. After all, in the past she'd said much worse.

"That I'm incapable of falling in love? Unlike you?" he growled as he tugged on his boots.

"Or maybe, that I'm incapable of falling in love with? Is that it, that what you wanna hear huh?" he pulled on his polo neck jumper and grabbed his jacket.

"No! Alec, wait! Wold you just listen? I didn't mean it to sound like that! I wasn't even.." she scrambled out of bed. Too late, she now realised that Alec wasn't all that sure about himself when it came to love. Pretty much like her then. But now he was walking away angry at her coz he'd misunderstood her. Ok, so she had made a wrong move aggravating him too. She tried to come clean to him about what had made her question him but he cut her off.

"Save it Max! I'm goin out. I'll be back later!" and with that he slammed the door and left. She stood speechless, staring at the door. How had the night gone oh so horribly wrong? She hurried to look for her clothes and began getting dressed. She had to go after him, explain herself and apologise!

A/N I am almost halfway through the next chap. I wrote a load and have had to split it into two chaps instead, so expect an update v.soon!!


	9. Chapter 9

Alec had left the motel and was halfway across the parking lot when he paused. Something in his mind was telling him to go back. He shook the feeling off as just being his nerves. He was obviously worried that he'd ruined his friendship with Max and all their progress. That plus the fact he wasn't relishing spending the night on his own. It just felt...wrong. 'God! That woman is so frustrating she makes me wanna scream! Where the hell does she get off?!' Suddenly, his barcode tingled in warning and he felt the hairs on his neck stand up. That was enough to draw him out of his reflections and into awareness again. His eyes scanned for danger. Although he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary his instincts were now screaming at him to return to Max and he decided it was a good idea.

Max had just started down the corridor after Alec. She had just rounded the corner when she walked straight into a chest. She didn't have to look up to know it was him, she knew by the way she fitted against his body and by his warm spicy almost scent. "Alec!" she grabbed his forearms and tried to get his attention but he wasn't looking at her. He was obviously trying to ignore her so he was still mad – time to make the peace! "Alec, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" she was silenced by Alec's hand over her mouth and he pulled her against his chest, his eyes scanning the corridor. Max saw the tension causing the muscle in his jaw to jump and she could hear his heart beating fast with adrenaline but mostly her senses were warning her of impending threat. Pulling away she scanned the corridor behind them for threat. She was about to turn back to Alec when her eyes caught the red laser flickering and aiming for Alec. Her eyes widened and she pushed him behind her and into the other corridor just as a muffled pop echoed in the air. She felt her body jar when it impacted against the wall and her legs gave way.

Alec was considering the possibility of retrieving their things before they ran for it when he suddenly found himself thrust forward by Max. The suddenness off it causing him to stumble to the floor. He was back on his feet in a moment though because he had heard a noise as he fell that his mind had instantly identified. It was a noise so familiar to him that it could only be made by one thing. He'd worked with one for so long and so well that it was as familiar sounding as a baby grand piano. But this was no piano. He knew that and right now he knew he had to get to Max. Scrambling back, he rounded the corner without care, almost stumbling again when he saw Max slump to the floor but his instincts had thankfully kicked in and he yanked her body towards him and dragged her out of any further harms way.

Alec cursed himself when he saw that Max had taken a shot to the shoulder. He looked at her, his eyes asking whether she was good to carry herself outta there and she nodded. Getting up, they ran for their room and burst in prepared for any attackers. Luckily there wasn't anybody there so Alec grabbed their holdalls while Max checked the window for any snipers or other company. It looked safe so she turned back and signalled all clear to Alec. Hurrying, as they knew to expect their attackers to appear soon to finish the job properly they climbed out of the window. He knew that as they didn't have time to use ropes it was a risk. Max's shoulder was an added one so he had refused to let her carry a holdall, all three now hanging from their straps that he'd thrown across his body.

Halfway down their descent, Max's shoulder, which was actually starting to throb with pain, gave way and she lost her grip. She let out a gasp causing Alec to snap his head in her direction. His heart rate tripled and he almost lost his own grip. He saw her dangling there helplessly; hanging on by just her fingertips and her panic stricken eyes held his for a moment before her fingers slipped. At the same time, his arm reacted, letting go, grasping the air for her. Relief flowed through him as his fingers closed around the fabric of a sleeve. He grunted aloud at the pain that ran through the arm that clung to the wall, holding them up. Hurrying, he grit his teeth and grunted as he yanked her up by the sleeve, releasing her for a split second before securing his arm around her waist. She clung to him as he scaled down the rest of the wall and shot him a grateful look as they touched the floor. He didn't have time to acknowledge it though. They were being hunted by god knows who; Max was hurt - he had to get them out of there.

He pulled his Glock from inside his leather jacket and grabbed Max's hand with the other, leading them through the lot to their car, keeping to the shadows and trying to spot their sniper. As they approached the car Alec pulled Max down to a crouching position, shielding their bodies behind the car. He frowned wondering why the guy hadn't made another move yet. He put down their bags and motioned for Max to stay where she was for a second while he checked things out.

He peered over the car and scanned the area as he edged forward, still crouching so that he could dive for cover if he needed to. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a brief flicker of movement. Not wanting to alert the approaching figure, he pretended to be focussed on the sight ahead of him. at the last moment he span around, pushing off his feet and springing back. His Glock raised, he fired at the figure before it had a chance to attack. A heavy body fell at his feet but Alec took in the red hair and immediately went on high alert. 'Familiars! How the hell did they track us down?' but no sooner had he had time to consider this than he had to scramble for cover as shots were fired repeatedly in his direction. "Fuck!" he cursed as he felt a burning pain flare up his left flank. Ignoring the pain, he hurried back to Max.

His breath left him, his eyes widening in horror, and he felt the colour rush from his face when he returned to where he'd left her. She wasn't there! The bags were there but she had disappeared. Not caring, he stood up and ran, calling her name and scanning the lot for her, narrowly avoiding the bullets that were flying by his head. He heard a small muffled cry and he ran towards the shadows. He rounded the corner of the building in time to see three Familiars dragging Max into a truck. She was resisting furiously, kicking and struggling to get free. He blurred to reach them, striking out at the Familiar that had dared to step into his path and separate him from Max. He knew he had little time to get rid of her; he had to get to Max before they dragged her to White. He executed a volley of uppercuts and well placed body shots to get her to drop her guard before he grasped her head and twisted his body with hers snapping her neck. Dropping her body he made his way to Max who was still holding up her resistance to the Familiars. He reached her in time to grab a hold of Max's outstretched hand, yanking her out of their grasp just as the truck pulled away. She cried out again, in pain. He'd damn near dislocated her wounded arm! But before she had time to recover, he had hauled her against him and blurred, weaving side to side, away from the Familiars, stumbling once or twice amidst the flurry of bullets that were being fired at them.

He practically threw her into the car with their bags and slammed the car into gear; throwing it into reverse he swung it in a haphazard 180 before it screeched out of the lot in the opposite direction to the Familiars. He knew he had to put as much distance between them as he could. Thankfully, Max had filled the tank with juice earlier so they wouldn't be running out soon. Grabbing the wheel with one hand he yanked his belt off with his free hand and held it in his teeth. Max looked across at him and he handed her the belt. Motioning to his leg, he told her to make a tourniquet around his thigh. That was the first time Max had noticed he'd taken a shot through the leg. As she did as he'd asked her eyes also took in the wet patch on his jumper and she yanked it up a little and let out a small cry, causing Alec to jerk and look at her. "You're hurt Alec!" she explained as her fingers gently brushed the raw oozing skin around his ribs.

"Yeah, son of a bitch caught me and it grazed my left side a little" he explained.

"Let me drive Alec! You need to see to that"

"Can't stop right now Maxie, I gotta put as much distance as we can between us and those crazy cult bastards"

He glanced in his rear view to see if they were catching up but there was nothing in the disappearing horizon.

"Tie something round your shoulder Maxie, you gotta staunch the bleeding" he instructed.

She searched around their things and found a hand towel. Tearing it into strips she tied one around her shoulder before leaning across towards him. Lifting the jumper away, she gently cleaned away the blood before too much of it dried to his skin. She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice his breath hitch at her closeness and from the feel of her warm breath on his skin as she expelled it and her surprisingly soft fingers that felt like they were caressing his skin whilst she worked. He felt his body grow uncomfortably hot and he shifted a little in his seat trying to control his reactions to her.

Thinking that he was either in pain or still pissed, Max drew away and whispered a soft "sorry" before turning to look out of the passenger window. Alec glanced at her and wondered what had happened before he remembered; he'd totally blown up at her earlier, taking his frustrations out on her. Yeah she obviously thought she deserved it and had tried apologising but she was probably more than a little pissed with him too, especially when he'd brushed her off while he'd gone into his soldier mode… 'Just great smart Alec!' he criticized himself silently and he let out a loud sigh.

The rest of the drive passed by in a mutual vow of silence between them both. They took the time to digest what had happened, what had almost happened and try to put their thoughts in order as to how it had made them realise one or two things. Finally Alec pulled into a garage of a long since abandoned home that had probably belonged to a wealthy resident of the town they were in but who had got out of dodge when the pulse had hit. The guy probably had a quaint villa in Spain or something that he'd moved to. Closing the vandalised, heavily graffitied garage door to conceal the car, Max and Alec made their way into the house.

Eventually they found themselves a room in the attic of the house that was still habitable and hadn't been vandalised or used as a den by drug addicts at one point or another since the house had been left to fall into deprivation. Max went straight into the en suite and managed to rustle up a clean bowl of water..cold..but it'd have to do.

When she stepped back into the room, Alec was stood facing her, and they stared at one another for a moment not really sure where they stood with one another anymore. Feeling guilty for the tension between them, she glanced down in shame. Alec stiffened immediately but hissed when he felt the skin on his torso snag against the jumper he had on. His pain brought Max's eyes back to him and she straightened her shoulders, telling herself it wasn't any use beating herself up over this. The only thing she could do now was try to salvage things by helping him. She walked over to him and placed the bowl beside the bed and turned towards him. Staring boldly into his eyes, she reached out to grasp the hem of his jumper, slowly lifting it up. He saw her flinch when he winced at the burning heat that had flared as his fabric clung to bits of his skin and blood and a feeling sprang low in his stomach as he took in the fact that she still cared enough to be pained by his pain. He raised his arms as she pulled it over him and then turned back to her expectantly. He wasn't sure what she was doing but he would go along with it seeing as she seemed to be trying to restore their friendship.

She stepped away, found the rest of the towel she'd used earlier and soaked it in the water. Turning back to him, she washed the wound carefully. He grit his teeth to suppress the urge to hiss. He didn't want her to feel bad. Carefully, she wrapped the wound up with a clean bandage from the kit they carried with them. In their line of work, a kit was a must. He stepped back when she was done when she finally spoke:

"Alec…your jeans" green eyes flicked up to hers "they need to come off if we're gonna take a look" she gestured to his leg and the tourniquet. She turned back to get out more clean bandages and set up a suture kit. As he removed his jeans he glanced up at her and sighed as he though how this kind of situation would have gone down had things not been so awkward between them. He'd thought of at least eight decent remarks he could have made when she'd told him to off his pants. Clad in his boxers, he cleared his throat signalling he was done. He wasn't really sure he should say anything to her; he didn't trust himself not to say something to screw things up again.

She gently pushed him so that he fell back and sat on the edge of the bed and then knelt down on the floor. As she began cleaning his wound she thought long and hard about the things that she'd been trying to sort through during the drive. She knew Alec cared about her..alot. She'd seen his reactions to when they were in danger and he'd risked his life enough times in the last few hours to show she really mattered to him. She'd heard the fear and desperation in his voice as he'd called out for her when the Familiars had grabbed her. She'd seen it in his eyes when her fingers slipped. She felt it in the way he'd held her tightly to him. Truth was, she'd felt it in all of his actions with her since they had gone on the run together…growing in intensity with time.

As she rinsed the cloth and watched as the water grew a dark pinky red she felt sickened at the sight and a pain stroke through her at the thought he was hurt. The blood was a stark reminder of his mortality. She could have lost him today; he could have died saving her. 'Just like everyone else I ever loved….' She bit her lip and held back the tears that threatened to spill. She admitted it now. Somewhere along the lines, she had fallen head over heels, crazy in love with Alec. She'd been so bitchy with him to fight the attraction and familiarity she felt for him. This guy was Manticore… he tried to kill her!! But he hadn't. And from that day onwards she'd fought stubbornly against the affinity she felt for him. It was easy when he had always been arrogant, conceited and selfish around her, and she had Logan but not now. Not now that she'd gotten see both men for who they really were. Now she knew the reason why she had always been so reluctantly drawn to him. There had always been something in him, she'd seen a glimmer of it the night he'd almost killed her and more when Rachel died. But he'd taken down her every defence little by little; everyday since the day he let her in.

She didn't love Logan; she didn't think she ever really had. He was the first human who had been attracted to her despite knowing that she was a transgenic, but he didn't like that she was. He had tried to change her. She'd mistaken that for love. Alec knew who she really was, and he didn't have to accept anything about her. He was the first guy she'd ever felt such intense feelings for. He made her feel so alive. Around him she could be passionate, aggressive, angry….but also upset, vulnerable….carefree. She sighed softly. 'But he doesn't feel the same way back. He still loves Rachel. Judging by his reaction, very much so. In any case, he's not ready to hear any of this. Maybe he'll grow to feel the same way in time. But if not, I guess just being together as whatever we are, is enough. It has to be'.

A/N: Told ya it'd be pretty quick getting this next chap out. Actually I over wrote _again _so I've split this with the next chap, wish it was as easy writing up my dissertation though… that's taking me forever to write!! Oh well, we all gots to have priorities!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N I don't own anything.. the song is Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

Standing up, she saw the gratitude in his eyes and she gave him a cautious smile before she went into the en suite. She took off her jeans and put on some boxer shorts. Then she hesitantly began pulling her top off, letting out a muted cry as it tore at her wound. She had forgotten that she'd been shot for a while now and that the blood had congealed; her top sticking to the bloody mess. Her head was still stuck in her top when she felt his warm powerful hands brush her arms as they came up from behind her and helped her lift the top off. Her breath caught in her throat as she felt the warmth of his body radiate onto her back. She watched through the mirror as he tried to ease the material away but each tug smarted and she felt wet tears prickling her eyes when she was finally free of it.

He tossed the material away, refilled the bowl and took her by her hand, leading them back into the room. "Sit down Maxie" he instructed quietly. She took a seat beside the cabinet where he'd laid clean bandages out. He climbed onto the bed, watchful not to jar her and held himself up on his knees behind her. Carefully, he raised his hand to her bra clad torso. His fingers brushed softly against the strap and carefully lifted it off her shoulder and let it hang down her arm. Her back stiffened slightly as she struggled not to gasp at his touch. Somehow, admitting her feelings for him to herself had changed how she reacted to his touch. Before she felt comfort and security, now, well she still felt that, but now she felt desire flow through her veins as his fingers unwittingly aroused her. She held her breath again, when he probed the ruptured skin for an exit site. Finding it, he irrigated the wound and inspected it. He saw she had a few pieces of bone that needed to be removed. Sighing, he leaned his head over her, cleaning away the blood and inspecting the entrance of the wound. He had to force his eyes not to wander down her exposed body or to the curve of her breast that lacked the covering support of her bra. He so didn't want to take advantage of the situation like that.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke in the same calming quiet tone to her "You have some bone shrapnel I gotta take out. It's gonna hurt a little Maxie" she nodded her head and he settled himself behind her again. As the tweezers got to work, he saw the muscles in her back jump and twitch in reception to the pain and he bit his lip. He felt anger mixed with pain course through him. He was angry with himself. If he hadn't have been an idiot and blown up at her unreasonably she'd have never needed to leave the room to come looking for him. She wouldn't have shoved him out of harms way and eaten the bullet. It was his entire fault. And he felt pain, simply because she was in pain. He wished he could take it from her, bear it himself if need be. He shook himself at that. 'Stop it you sap! She's a soldier, she can take it!' 'But she shouldn't have had to' his conscience accused back.

The tweezers grasped a fragment of bone and he slowly drew it out. Max let out a gasp of pain. He grimaced at the knowledge that it must have hurt. The fucker must have used a real haymaker round on her. He went to remove the final fragment of bone, not wanting to drag out the experience for her. Once he had it between the pincers, he snaked an arm around her waist and entwined his fingers with hers "Squeeze as hard as you want ok?" he whispered encouragingly. She smiled weakly and nodded. She felt weak. She'd lost a lot of blood and all she wanted to do was sleep and let herself recover from the rushes of the night. Alec pressed himself to her back slightly to offer her bracing support as he pulled the stubborn shard from the wound and he felt her hand crush his in retaliation.

"Jeez Maxie, some grip you got there!" he commented as she released his hand and let him stitch her up.

"Figured since you offered so nicely…" she shot back, her heart lifting, delighted that things seemed to be returning back to normal a little.

"I told you I was a gent"

"You have your moments" she allowed him, as he began winding the bandage over her shoulder.

He laughed softly at that. Both relieved that they were still ok, better than ok, a little worse for wear, but still they were alive and had gotten out together, so nothing else mattered.

He had cleared away the first aid kit whilst she had been inspecting her bandaged arm, rotating it a little to ease the stiffness that had set in after he'd wrenched her out of the truck. When he turned back to look at her, his eyes alighted on her back, unable to keep from drinking in the sight of her golden skin, the way she you could see the cat in her DNA by her slim figure, and her posture, legs curled, body slightly twisted. He could see the runes on her back too, standing out like delicious chocolate flakes on a creamy latte. He felt a strong urge to go over and run his tongue over one, to taste her, see if she tasted as good as she looked.

Shocked at what he'd been thinking, he glanced away and picked out a t-shirt from his bag, which he then handed her. He didn't chance looking at her as he did coz then he'd get a frontal view of her and he didn't think he'd be able to resist if he had any more urges. He indicated to the washroom and asked "wanna go first?"

She groaned as she moved to get up, she was so tired, she just really wanted to sleep off the aches and pains the Familiars had inflicted on her when she'd fought them off. They could have easily killed her but they had held back just enough…she wondered what White wanted with her. She took her wash bag from Alec as she passed him by on her way.

"Uhh, Maxie?" she turned back to him and he handed her a towel tilting his head and giving her a wry smile. "Thanks" she mumbled as she turned back around feeling slightly embarrassed.

When the door shut behind her, Alec stopped pretending he was packing up their things and sank back to the bed with a long sigh. He felt all the emotions he'd kept at bay all night break through the dam and flood through him. He hung his head low between his legs and pressed his hands to the back of his neck as he inhaled deeply, before straightening up and squaring his shoulders. He couldn't help it; the soldier that was still part of who he was wouldn't allow him to do this until it had stepped fully back into his subconscious. He could take his time now to take stock of things.

'Where to start though?' he asked himself. He thought back to before the ambush. 'Yeah, that's a good place as any to start I guess'. In light of all that they'd been through since he knew he wasn't mad at Max anymore. He wasn't even certain he'd been mad at her to begin with. He had just been so afraid of his own thoughts his paranoid side had convinced himself it was _she _who doubted his love for Rachel when really it had been him. It was his growing feelings for her that had made him doubt his past. And now, having nearly lost her, he knew he couldn't deny it, the feelings he'd felt, his instinctive reactions to the threat on _his _Max.

He shuddered as he remembered her eyes as she'd looked up at him, begging him to save her, a flash of regret in her eyes and then she'd slipped from sight. It was that split second moment between when she'd slipped from sight and when he had reacted that it all became clear. In that instant he felt his world collapse, felt his heart stop, literally, and felt that irrational desire to reach out and snatch her back so that his world would be put back on its axis again. So he did, and the moment she was back in his arms again, he knew he held his only real reason for living in his arms.

He needed her, in truth, he always had. Even before he'd gotten to know her like he did now. He had needed her when he'd kneeled above her, knife poised. In those scared beautiful eyes it wasn't her fear that had stopped him plunging that knife down. No, it was the disappointment lurking behind it. Her saving grace was the grace she unknowingly offered him from behind those eyes. She had expected more of him. That meant she believed he could be more than the killer he was made to be. In her eyes, he found a salvation and he'd decided he wanted _that_, more than his own life. But she hadn't even let him die. She'd saved his life. Thereafter, even though she bitched at him and kept him away, he couldn't leave; he'd been drawn to her. To her inner fire, her willingness to save others, the way she cared enough to even try and offer him comfort after Rachel.

This girl had walked up to him, kicked him in the chest and given him a name. But that wasn't what made him Alec; wasn't what made him come alive. It was her, she brought him to life. In Seattle, when they had hidden from one another, he had continued to follow her, to try and befriend her, because deep inside, he held the hope that one day, she'd look at him and he'd see her faith in him restored. Since they'd gone on the run together, he'd gotten to see a whole other side to Max. A side he appreciated even more. And she'd seen him, the inner him. And every moment he spent around her now he learnt how to really live, to feel, to care…..to love.

Rachel, he had loved her, but he wasn't in love with her. He never had been. He'd just loved her for being the first person to ever show any affection to him. She'd introduced him to things like happiness, attraction, kindness, sadness, remorse. But he knew that even if he had saved her, if she were alive now, their relationship wouldn't have lasted long. They were too different. He could imagine the type of girl she'd be and though it was nice, that's all the thought was…nice. But Max, she wasn't just nice. She was exciting, fun, scary, frustrating, sexy, breathtaking, lethal, vulnerable and so much more. What he felt now with Max was real and it was lasting. _This_ was love. There wasn't any doubt in his mind now. He loved her, on a level that went beyond the physical, beyond chemical reactions; he was _in_ love with her.

He looked up from his thoughts when she returned from the bathroom, her hair wrapped up in the towel. She'd changed back into his tee and her shorts. Grabbing his things, he went for a quick shower. The cold water enough to take his mind off the girl in the other room.

As he stood in front of the grimy mirror, brushing his teeth, Biggs decided he was due an appearance. 'So you finally admitted it then. Told ya man, you lur-ve her! So, now what? What's the game plan here?'

He spat into the basin and rinsed his mouth as he reached the conclusion of his musings. What indeed? He knew how he felt about her, but he knew she didn't love him. He held a place in her heart he knew that now. But it wasn't the place he really wanted. That coveted spot was reserved for Mr. Untouchable himself. He'd stood by and watched her wallow in the drama of her love life and even when it was practically non existent, like now, she still clung to Logan. She would never give up. That just wasn't her.

Inner Biggs, who had been observing Alec's thoughts decided he'd heard enough and that Alec ought to get back to the point..well _his_ point 'so where does that leave you?' Staring back at himself in the mirror, Alec shrugged 'Same place I've always been. Right by her side.' He'd gone to bed for weeks now, looking into the windows to her soul, and he could see she believed in him now. She trusted him. She had faith in him. That was enough for now. Who knows? Maybe all they needed was time…

When he finally joined Max in the bed, she turned to face him, wanting to finally explain last night to him, to tell him what she'd meant to tell him in the corridor.

**We'll do it all  
Everything  
On our own  
**

"Alec, about last night.. I didn't…" his fingers on her mouth cut her off.

"Shh Max…It's ok. I don't wanna talk about it. I'm sorry bout how I went off but let's just forget it happened ok?"

She searched his eyes for a moment to understand why he didn't want to talk about what had happened before she realised it was just easier to not bring it up again.

**We don't need  
Anything  
Or anyone**

She nodded her head in acceptance and he pulled her close, arranging them as they usually ended up. This time though, he savoured having her there – alive.

He inhaled her scent and spoke softly into her hair:

"Let's just lie here and forget everything for a while ok?"

**If I lay here  
If I just lay here  
Would you lie with me and just forget the world? **

**I don't quite know  
How to say  
How I feel**

He brushed his lips against the top of her head and rubbed his cheek on her hair

**  
Those three words  
Are said too much  
They're not enough  
**

Both were lost in their thoughts on one another. Accepting that for now, they would have to keep those feelings to themselves, until the other was ready...if they ever would be.

**  
If I lay here  
If I just lay here  
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?  
**

**Forget what we're told  
Before we get too old  
Show me a garden that's bursting into life  
**

Alec let himself relive memories he had of Max, creating more and more reasons that he needed her around.

**Let's waste time  
Chasing cars  
Around our heads  
**

Max shifted closer, tucking her head beneath his chin

**I need your grace  
To remind me  
To find my own  
**

His hand stroked up and down her arm as it rested on his chest above his heart.

**  
If I lay here  
If I just lay here  
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?  
**

**Forget what we're told  
Before we get too old  
Show me a garden that's bursting into life  
**

Max smiled as she remembered all the ways in which Alec brightened up her days

**  
All that I am  
All that I ever was  
Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see  
**

Alec reminded himself of why he was ok with just being her friend. Her eyes. His deliverance.

**  
I don't know where  
Confused about how as well  
Just know that these things will never change for us at all**

Max wasn't all that sure how or when it had happened but it had. And yet, no one would know of this latest development, not even him.

**  
If I lay here  
If I just lay here  
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?**

Their eyes closed as their bodies gave in to repair themselves, both assured by the fact that the other would still be there when their eyes opened in the morning.

A/N Hey.. That's my quota… I'm all MA'ed out for the moment!! For a little while at least…hope you liked this chap! i know..another songfic chap but I can't help maself!! Anyway, as I'm still just getting into the swing of getting what's in here (points to head) on to here (points to screen) I'd like to say thanks again for the encouraging reviews I've had…they're kinda becoming as addictive as Jensen!!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N I know I'm sorry to have to do another songfic chapter but I couldn't quite think up any decent scenarios so this is kind of a filler…until my muse comes back from wherever the hell they are…. if you see them, do me favour and send them back to me! And no I don't own the song… its Jack Johnson's Better Together.

'Ok so it's been what, 4 weeks since you finally seen the light an' figured out how you _really_ feel bout hot boy?' Max mentally agreed and resisted the urge to roll her eyes - her inner OC was back and she was looking for answers. 'Now tell me somethin' suga, why the heck ain't you getting' down wit yo boy now? You waitin' for some divine intervention maybe?' she asked sarcastically.

'No, it's not like that, it's just…complicated' Max feebly explained

'Well can you _UN_complicate it? What is with you boo? I mean you can actually touch this one…heck suga, you actually _LOVE_ this one!!' OC pointed out exasperatedly.

'But that's just it! That's the problem OC…I love him but he doesn't feel the same way. He loves Rachel' Max gritted out the last part, part of her was stupidly reluctant about admitting that Alec was in love with someone that wasn't herself.

'So? No disrespect but Rachel ain't comin back from the dead and no one can be _in_ love with a ghost forever boo. You gotta stop hiding behind these dumb ass excuses and go after what you want. _Make _him fall in love wit you…how hard can it be? Dumb fool likes hangin wit you, he cares bout you and he already thinks you're hot…' seeing that Max was about to protest this, OC held up a hand to halt its progress 'Puh-lease boo, you tryina tell me he'd pass if a fine lookin' honey such as yoself offered it up to him on a plate? Cos we both know that's a punk ass lie!'

Max sighed and shook her head 'I don't wanna seduce him to just get jiggy with him OC, I want him to love me, y'know, the way I love him….you can't just make someone love you!'

'Boo, let me put in on the line for you here ok? When it comes to love, men don't know love 'til it smacks 'em in the face..hard, and Alec's jus like all other guys; he jus needs a lil encouragement to have his love radar pointin' in yo direction, and ain't nothin wrong with that' OC gave her boo an optimistic smile and then faded away leaving Max to mull over those words.

Before OC had popped into her head for this pep talk, she'd been waiting in line for their food at the diner. She'd gone in whilst Alec waited in the car. It was his turn to drive. After checking that they even took take out orders, Max had placed her order and had sat down to wait for the food. As she sat there, she'd turned on her seat to look through the window at Alec. She smiled as she saw him sitting in the car, a bored look on his face as he looked around, his head nodding to the beat of whatever track the radio was playing and his hands tapping to the beat on the steering wheel. Catching his eye, she lifted both her hands indicating they would have to wait ten minutes for the food. He closed his eyes, his mouth blowing out a breath as he fell back in his seat in an over exaggerated display of impatience. She smiled sympathetically, knowing how hungry he had been. His stomach had been quite literally growling by the time she'd slipped out of the car. He grinned back at her and then shook his head as he once again looked around at the people going about their business. As he looked away she found herself in yet another round of contemplation. She'd had many of these since she'd made her little discovery four weeks ago…the one about her being in love with Alec.

She had been thinking bout how things really hadn't changed that much between them since their run in with the Familiars. She had woken the next morning feeling a little hesitant. They hadn't resolved anything between one another the night before even though she had internally resolved her feelings for him. So when her hesitant eyes met his, she was a little surprised to see his own eyes shining happily back at her. He'd greeted her as merrily as he always had and she'd taken her cue from this and before she knew it, they were back to how things had been before, as though yesterday hadn't even happened. They had stayed at the mansion for another night, to allow their injuries to heal a little more. Neither of them had tried to approach the subject of what had happened during that time and they hadn't since. It was around about then that OC had rocked up in her head.

She looked back out the window, letting her eyes wander over Alec who now seemed to be deep in thought as he stared down at something, a small smile on his face. She pondered over OC's advice. 'I guess it does help that he seems to enjoy hangin out with me, and I know he cares bout me. We've been on the run together what 4 months now and we just work really well together. So we could be just a few steps away from being a couple right? I suppose…I could try… flirt, just a little and see if he's interested. Just a little bit, see if it gets any balls rolling. If it doesn't work then hopefully we'll stay as we are. I just hope he doesn't laugh his ass off at me or gets all weirded out by this. Okay OC, we'll try it your way but I swear if this doesn't work I'm never listening to you again…ever!' Max looked away from the window as she began thinking of the different ways in which she could execute her new plan of action.

Alec glanced about at the people walking around, oblivious to who and what he was. He then looked into the diner to see whether Max had managed to get round to ordering yet. He could just pick out the top of her long dark hair as it bobbed around, indicating she was in conversation with the person at the counter. A song he didn't recognise came on over the radio and he began bobbing his head to the beat and beating out a rhythm with his hands, purely out of boredom. When he looked up again he caught Max trying to catch his eye and when she indicated that the food would be done in another ten minutes he mentally groaned. He was starving, he hated that about being on the run, having to grab food on the go instead of just walking into the kitchen of his apartment and making himself something, or better yet, having food delivered, preferably Chinese! They didn't really want to risk having some delivery guy figuring out who they were; they pretty much avoided contact with humans as much as was possible. Max being the key to White's plans for the world, they knew they had to take such extra precautions to stay off the radar.

He caught Max's smile and felt a warm feeling spread across his chest. The grin that grew across his face was an automatic response; he loved that he could make her smile at him like that. Tearing his eyes away from her before his feelings became too obvious; he pretended to go back to being bored. In his mind though, he was thinking over their situation. He'd finally realised he was truly madly deeply in love with his hellcat partner and a month had gone by, _a month _and…and nothing. He hadn't done anything, she hadn't done anything, not that she was supposed to of course, but whatever, it still left them in the same weird unnamed relationship. He thought he'd be fine just being her friend, and for the most part, he was. But there was always a part of him that came out every now and then, in his quiet moments of introspection, and demanded more. So far he'd dealt with it the same way he dealt with all things he wasn't all that comfortable with; he mentally gagged that personality and shoved it into the furthest recess of his mind.

'Ha! Good thing ya can't do that to me then eh?' Biggs piped up. Alec groaned aloud considering he was alone in the car.

'Yeah yeah,,.glad to see that you missed me!' Biggs chirped 'So you think you're finally ready to grow a backbone and go after what you want man?'

'Huh?'

'You know what I'm talking about. Don't give me that. You know you can't handle just being buddies with her forever, you're deluding yourself if you think you can. Quit wasting time and just go after her man.'

'But Logan…'

'Logan Shmogan! He ain't around now is he? He's out of the picture...so why not make the best of the situation and show her what you have to offer her. Just…let her see what else is on the menu and she can choose what she wants'

'Yeah and what if she still wants _him_?' he didn't bother to hide his disgust.

'Then you know. At least you won't wonder what you _could_ have had, had you had the balls to lay your heart on the line'. With that, Biggs left Alec to his thoughts. Alec reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He stared down at the photo.

He had been packing Max's bag whilst she was in the bathroom one morning when he came across a handful of photographs tucked in an inside pocket. Before they had left Seattle, OC had moved in with Sketchy for safety reasons. In case White's investigations brought him to OC's flat. He and Max had made a quick stop at their places to pack a few things to go on the run with. Max must have packed these too. Looking through them he had been able to tell which ones Sketchy had obviously taken with that damn camera of his. There were quite a few of Max and OC, in each one she looked stunning. Who knew Sketchy had a talent for capturing beauty on camera? There were also the ones OC had taken, of a pissed out of his mind Sketchy and a laughing Max. The one where she was drawing on Sketchy's face was kind of a turn on. She had this naughty grin and a downright sexy gleam in her eye. Amongst the final few, he was surprised to find the one Sketchy had taken of Max and himself, from their expression it was obvious they hadn't been warned or asked to say cheese! Just as he had been wondering why Max would want a picture of him, he'd turned to the next one and he stopped wondering altogether. It was a picture of her and Logan at some kind of celebration. Obviously, she'd just picked _their_ picture up by accident. This was the one she'd really been after.

Max had come back into the room and snatched the pictures back "Hey get offa those, they're mine, get your own!" she'd joked. Alec had complained then about how he couldn't get his own and that it really wasn't fair that she had all those pictures of their friends. Pouting his mouth and looking at her with mournful eyes he pleaded with her "Can't I have one Maxie? Please, just one?" Tilting his head, he waited. He knew she wouldn't be able to resist when he did that. She always rolled her eyes, pressed her lips together to hide her smile and said 'Oh alright!'..and she had done just that. When she moved away to finish gathering her things he looked back through all the pictures until he settled on one. It was the one he now kept safely in his wallet.

Looking down at the picture, Alec took in the happy contented look in her eyes, they really were beautiful. Deep chocolate brown orbs that he wanted to drown in. Her cheeks were flushed and rosy and she wore a genuine smile on her face. He could tell a genuine smile from a fake one. When she really meant it, her jaw would drop a little so her mouth would part slightly. When her heart wasn't in it, her teeth were together, if they even showed at all. She was stood next to OC and by the looks of things, OC had just told Sketchy off. She had that classic unimpressed mouth, raised eyebrow face on. The fact that OC was in the picture sweetened the deal, as in he had an excuse for walking around with a picture of Max in his wallet.

'Hmm, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try it out...' he thought 'at the very least I can rule the whole idea of _US _out completely, if it doesn't work that is. I mean, I'll never know unless I give it a shot right?' However his musings were cut short when Max reappeared, opening the door to the car, the food in a paper bag in her other hand. Alec quickly flipped his wallet shut and tucked it into his back pocket as she climbed into the seat beside him.

"Hey" he cleared his throat

"Hey" she watched as he started up the car again "so I got us some burgers – no onions, fries, shakes and…" she grinned at him "hot apple pie!"

"Oh man! Anyone ever tell you you're an angel Maxie? Can you hand me some fries now? I'm really, really hungry"

Max paused for a moment as she reached down into the bag for the fries. 'I could use this, I could start right now..ok, let's do this' She turned in her seat so she was facing him more and held out a few fries to his face. Alec glanced over and saw her extended offering. Just as he was about to remove a hand off the wheel to take it he recalculated 'Let the fun begin!' he thought as he turned his head instead and took the fries from her fingers with his mouth. Max's eyes widened slightly as she watched his mouth's descent before she realised that was what she had wanted to happen anyway. Taking a quick breath to steady herself she held up some more to him. Again, Alec fed from her fingers, purposefully allowing his lips to brush her fingertips as he did so. She barely repressed the shiver that ran down her spine at the feel of his lips.

"Mmmm, thanks Maxie" he was smiling as he chewed. The laughter lines of his eyes making his profile all the more attractive.

Max smiled too and dipped a couple of fries into the sauce before feeding it to Alec. As she did, she 'accidentally' smeared a little of the sauce on the side of his mouth.

"Oops" she laughed a little flirtatiously and leaned over "let me get that for you" she whispered against his ear. With her finger she wiped off the sauce and leaned back into her seat again. At the feel of her warm breath against his ear Alec had to suck in his breath, which he then let out in a silent gasp as he watched her settle back into her seat and bring her finger to her lips, sucking off the sauce. He struggled to keep from reacting to the images that bombarded him at that. Looking innocently through her lashes, Max's lips curled ever so slightly as she caught the flash of restrained lust in Alec's eyes.

Alec pulled up beside what was by post-pulse standards 'a playground'. "C'mon" he grabbed the bag of food and made his way to the set of swings that constituted the playground. Max followed and they both sat astride the swings, facing one another. As they ate, they talked happily about how much they missed the conveniences that came with staying in one place and Max told him how it had been just like this for her before she settled in Seattle, only she had been alone. She smiled at him at that to show she was glad she wasn't alone this time.

As they tucked into the still hot apple pie, Alec's eyes fluttered close and Max couldn't help but laugh at the look of pleasure on Alec's face. Recovering, Alec smiled sheepishly and then leaned forward, reached for the chain holding her swing up and drew himself towards her to press a quick kiss to Max's cheek "Thanks again Maxie" he explained to her shocked face. He went on to spoon some more apple pie in his mouth, chancing a glance up at her face for her reaction. He was pleasantly surprised to see her lips curve into a small smile as she looked back down to her own pie and a smile of his own forced its way onto his face.

_There's no combination of words _

_I could put on the back of a postcard, _

_No song that I could sing _

_But I can try for your heart, _

They walked back to the car, both satisfied at how their first attempts had gone and with a feeling of confidence in themselves as they hadn't been laughed at or rejected so far.

_Our dreams, and they are made out of real things, _

_Like a shoebox of photographs, _

_With sepia tone loving_

They reached the car and climbed in with a quick smile at one another from across the roof of the car…

_Love is the answer _

_At least for most of the questions in my heart ,_

_Like why are we here? And where do we go? _

_And how come it's so hard? _

They discussed where to head to next and Alec started the car up. The car left a dusty trail in its wake as it hit the freeway.

_It's not always easy,_

_And sometimes life can be deceiving, _

_I'll tell you one thing, its always better when we're together _

_FLASH TO _

Max was looking down in the dumps as she walked back down the drive towards Alec who looked up expectantly from where he was leaning against the bonnet of the car. She shook her head and he squeezed her arm gently before they climbed back in the car.

_MMM, it's always better when we're together _

She rested her head on one arm as she lay on the bonnet of the car, staring up at the dark sky, wondering whether she'd ever see her family again.

_Yeah, we'll look at the stars when we're together _

Alec settled himself on one elbow beside her and reached down.

_Well, it's always better when we're together _

Taking hold of her free hand and offering her a comforting smile. She smiled back gratefully.

_Yeah, it's always better when we're together _

_FLASH TO _

Max and Alec were walking when a blonde walked by smiling flirtatiously at Alec. Max stopped, wrapped one arm around his neck and brought the hand of the other arm to his collar, causing Alec to look down at her. Smiling innocently and holding his stare, she straightened his collar while the girl walked by. Pulling away she walked ahead with a small smile on her face.

_FLASH TO _

Alec had been having a pleasant dream of Max when he was rudely awoken with a bucket of freezing cold water.

_And all of these moments _

_Just might find their way into my dreams tonight _

_But I know that they'll be gone, _

_When the morning light sings _

His eyes shot open and he saw Max's face hovering over his, laughing at his shocked expression. Max offered her hand to help him up in a truce.

_And brings new things,_

_But tomorrow night you see_

_That they'll be gone too, _

_Too many things I have to do_

Grinning, he grabbed her hand and sat up. Yanking her into his lap, he shook water droplets from his hair onto her face while she squealed.

_FLASH TO _

Max was busy talking on the phone when Alec walked by with a bar of chocolate.

He unwrapped the bar and was about to take a bite when he noticed Max's hungry stare. His eyes flicked from the bar and back to her. Grinning he took a massive bite and chomped happily, ignoring her disappointed look

_But if all of these dreams might find their way _

_Into my day to day scene _

_I'll be under the impression, _

_I was somewhere in-between _

Going in for his second bite, he paused and then pulled away.

_With only two, _

_Just me and you _

Handing the bar to a surprised Max, Alec stood and turned.

_Not so many things we got to do,_

_Or places we got to be _

_We'll sit beneath the mango tree now_

He walked away with a small smile on his face.

_FLASH TO _

_Yeah, it's always better when we're together _

Alec was sprawled out in only is boxers at the foot of the bed, a look of concentration on his face. Max was in her own boxers and a vest, propped up against the head board, concentrating on the maps in front of her.

_MMM, We're somewhere in-between together _

She looked around the side of the map to see what Alec was doing. He looked up at her expectantly.

_Well, it's always better when we're together_

She frowned when she saw he'd painted her toenails pink. He looked a little confused by her frown until she reached into her bag and handed him a bottle in vamp red.

_Yeah, it's always better when we're together _

She grinned that sexy impish grin and wiggled her toes at him.

_Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm _

Alec smiled and got on with the task.

_FLASH TO _

Alec's eyes fluttered open and he inhaled deeply. Propping himself up on one elbow he looked down at the dark haired angel who was spooned against him.

_I believe in memories _

_They look so, so pretty when I sleep _

_Hey now, and when, and when I wake up, _

_You look so pretty sleeping next to me _

He gently swept some hair from her forehead and pressed a soft kiss to her temple.

_But there is not enough time, _

_And there is no, no song I could sing _

He lay back down behind her and pulled her closer into his body. His hand held hers against her chest and resting his cheek against the curve of her neck, he fell back into a light slumber

_And there is no combination of words I could say_

_But I will still tell you one thing_

_We're better together_

Max's eyes opened and then closed. A smile weaving its way onto her face before she too fell back to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Sorry it's been a while since I updated. I've been throwin up for over a week so New Years day, my bro's birthday AND my birthday totally bombed! AND I lost my pen drive with the story so far on it and the start of CH12. I _wasn't_ a happy bunny but there's been some damn good fic's on here that have helped me feel better and got me in the mood to write again! CH12 comin' up!

As the first rays of the sun peeked out on the horizon; like golden fingers reaching into the dark and rousing the sky, feline instincts that had long lain dormant in two steadily breathing bodies found themselves unconsciously awakening. The male stirred first; his arms tightening around the female, drawing her closer to his chest as he too moved closer to wrap himself around her. Still asleep, a low contented purr rumbled from deep within his chest. His nose nuzzled the soft skin beneath her ear and he rubbed his cheek against her barcode; her scent soothing to his soul.

She felt warm and safe and felt more than heard the deep rumbling against her back. Eyes still closed, she turned in the circle of the arms that held her and rubbed her cheek against the strong, smooth skin she encountered. She snuggled against his neck.

A happy purr emanated from her throat when he bowed his head and his tongue snaked out to lick the outer shell of her ear. His lips nipped her lobe lightly and he growled playfully when she purred louder. She turned her face to his and her hand reached up to stroke his jaw. His hand rubbed up and down her arm as he rubbed his cheek into the palm of her hand. She rubbed her nose against his, a smile appearing on both their sleeping faces. Tilting her head up slightly to bring her closer to his mouth, she flicked her tongue at his lips and then pulled away when his mouth searched for hers, teasing him. His hand went to run through her hair and his fingers massaged the back of her head all the while drawing her face close again. Their breath mingled as their lips drew ever closer but at the last minute, she turned her head and pressed her lips to his ear, her tongue licking and sucking. Frustrated at being thwarted, he growled low and when he felt her lips smile against his neck he rolled them over so she lay on her back.

Max's eyes flew open when she felt herself being pushed into the mattress and she gasped as she realised in an instance what she had been doing and with who. Alec's eyes snapped open at her gasp and his senses rushed to fill him in on where he was and what he had been doing. He scrambled up to his knees so that he was straddling her. Both looked at one another seeing their dazed confusion reflected back at one another. Their hearts were beating wildly in their chest and their minds raced at what the hell had just happened and more importantly why had it happened? Max felt her face burn as she flushed with embarrassment and confusion. Alec tore his eyes away from the red flush that had spread up over Max's face and neck, knowing he probably looked the same, his eyes darted around the room as he tried to think of what the hell he was supposed to do next. Max watched as Alec licked his lip nervously and she struggled to swallow 'Holy crap, holy shit, holy fuck!!' was all her brain could supply her with as she tried to think about what she was supposed to say about all this.

After a long awkward pause, Alec decided the first thing he should do was get as far away from Max as possible, for a number of reasons – the good of his health, the fact that it wasn't conducive to thinking and because she looked too tempting just lying there, innocently sexy, like a ripe fruit just begging to be taken. 'Okay, enough with the metaphors before something comes up and gives her a really really good reason to neuter you'. Tentatively, he climbed off her and hurried to clear the bed. He was almost positive once he moved she would snap out of whatever funk she was in and lash out with her leg to kick him clear across the room. So to say he was surprised when he reached the safety of the other end of the bed and turned around to see she had pulled herself up onto her elbows and still had a bewildered expression, was an understatement. 'Is she just as clueless as to what just happened?'

Alec cleared his throat, simply to break the suffocating silence but when he saw that Max thought he was about to speak he couldn't bring himself to disappoint. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, all he could think to say was "Errr, ahem, ahh..I..err, I…err…gotta go to the bathroom!" and with that he fled the room. Max pushed herself up to a sitting position as she watched him retreat, astounded by his behaviour. 'What the...? Why's he beat it for? Damn it Alec, couldn't you explain what in the hell w-you..we were doing..before you made a run for it?!' she fumed. She dragged herself out of bed and grabbed her clothes and wash bag. Realising she was going to have to wait for Alec to get out of the bathroom she sat back down on the edge of the bed. As she cast her eyes around the room for the answers to her confusion her eyes fell to the unmade sheets of the bed. Staring at the scene of the crime, as it were, she began to recall the events of the morning.

She had been asleep. She hadn't acted consciously, no way. Much as she would have liked to and even though her campaign to make Alec fall in love with her was going well, it wasn't moving this fast…this was bullet fast! So why had she pawed and purred and licked Alec like she was some kinda freakin' cat. 'Cat…shit! It must have been my freaky DNA! Oh god, dammit Sandeman, what now, am I gonna turn into a fuckin' cat next?'Inhaling deeply she shook her head to clear it of her minor bout of hysteria. Exhaling slowly and feeling a little calmer now, she went back to thinking

'So my DNA kicks in and I start acting like a cat and….and..and what? Why did Alec respond the way he did?'Her breathing grew erratic again as she considered the possibilites 'he thought you knew what you were doing and was only too pleased to partake?'she thought hopefully 'No, it doesn't explain why he looked so damn confused and..and frightened? Shit, have I scared him off now? No no no, he had enjoyed it, I'm sure of it, he was purring too!'she blushed at the thought 'Focus! So he liked it at the time and then later..he didn't?'she struggled internally _'_No…no, he looked confused…like..like me! He didn't know what he was doing either! We're both part cat right?' Max nodded to herself, positive she'd unravelled the mystery until she was hit by one last question 'So if I didn't know what I was doing, and Alec didn't either…that means…Sandeman has nothing to do with it….Then what the hell made us…?'she trailed off as her mind supplied her with visual flashes of their heated moment, her body reacting to the memory of his scent, his heat, his skin, his taste, his sound…she groaned into the pile of clothes she held. She wanted him so bad but she was so damn confused about where she stood with him and now, there was this…whatever_…_to contend with too.

The past eight days, things had been going great, better than great. She felt like they were actually getting somewhere. She'd discovered Alec was most definitely physically attracted to her and he seemed to be responding to her flirting. He even seemed to be flirting back…yeah, he was definitely flirting back. She smirked as she remembered the way he'd been acting around her. He'd been so attentive and he was definitely touching her more, holding her hand, hugging her, snuggling up next to her when they watched TV, dancing with her and only her when they'd had a night off and then spending the rest of the evening with his arm around her. He was dropping little kisses on her now too, her head, her hair, her cheek, even her nose! She sighed…if anything, she'd fallen even deeper in love with the guy! He made her feel like a pampered kitten…she stopped herself from dwelling on that thought…it was just a figure of speech! she hadn't really felt like that…and even if she had been feeling like that, it didn't mean she was gonna start going all catwoman because of it!! 'God!! This is insane, I am going insane!' she stood and stalked to the bathroom door, banging her fist on the door.

"Alec, get your ass out of there now!" she ordered through the door.

A/N: Hey that's all I could write today cos I gotta get ready for uni - which means I'll have to be up at like 6.30am and its 1.30am now!!

I know the last chap kinda bombed cos it was really just another songfic! I just didn't know what to write about!! Truth is this whole story is based on an idea I got from two songs and all that I've written so far is just to get the story to reach those songfic chaps so I'm afraid there are definitely two more songfic chaps to come!! Apologies in advance!!

Next chap… Alec's POV!! Please R+R!!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I don't own the song, it belongs to Des'ree…

'Fuck…Shit! Fuck! Shit!' Alec cursed under his breath as he locked the bathroom door and turned to press his back against it. He closed his eyes and inhaled quickly and deeply through his nose, willing himself to 'calm the fuck down!' Feeling his body relax a little, he stepped away from the door and stood before the wash basin. He ducked his head and splashed his face and neck with cold water, trying to clear his mind and body of the riotous emotions he was feeling. He looked in the mirror at his reflection, watching droplets of water course down his face, dripping from his hair and traversing down his neck and onto his chest. After almost a minute of just staring at himself, he finally blinked and knew he was somewhat back in control. He turned and reached up to turn on the shower, letting it warm up as he skimmed his boxers off and stepped out of them. It was only when he stepped under the hot spray of the shower that he was finally ready to conduct the autopsy….

As he scrubbed his body Alec began making sense of things. 'Holy shit! Max and I were this close…_this close_…to..' he trailed off, not exactly sure what they had been close to doing seeing as they'd been actin like.. Well, not like humans anyway! He had felt a whole lot less human and whole lot more animal as he'd…done what he'd done to Max. It was like he was acting on instinct, but a type of instinct he'd never known before. He was used to his survival instincts, his killer instincts and his human instincts…but this, he didn't really know what this was 'but boy did it feel right!' he admitted as he stepped under the shower to rinse off his body. He reached for the shampoo and began lathering his hair, his eyes closing as he allowed his mind to flashback, his body reacting to the memory. Of how she'd felt in his arms, how he'd felt in hers, her smell, the feel of her hair, her hand on his face, her warm velvety tongue, the taste of her skin. His body grew hotter and tenser as his ears seemed to echo with the sound of her purrs of appreciation and he could feel something within struggling to break free to answer them. He quickly reached up and switched the dial to cold and felt the warring within subside.

Things between him and Max had been going brilliantly. They'd been flirting for days now and his confidence had grown with every successful play, every touch that had been welcomed and every kiss that he'd sneaked that hadn't been returned with a smack or a yell. In fact, last night, as he lay there for a while watching her sleep, he'd decided that when the moment was right, he was going to ask her out on an official date. He knew it was still a gamble and she could turn him down, but the way she'd been around him lately, he was at least eighty percent confident of her agreeing. He hadn't missed the way she'd been flirting back. He hadn't missed how she'd draw away his attention when other women flirted with him, how she'd snuggle up with him and rest her head on his shoulder as they watched TV, how she sought refuge in his arms, how she seemed to like the attention he'd lavished on her. And he couldn't forget his surprise at the feel of her fingers lovingly stroking through his hair when she thought he'd been asleep, or the warm happy feeling that had spread through him! He'd also noticed how she'd ditched her baggy t-shirt and boxers for skimpy strappy tops and tight boy shorts.

As he stepped out of the shower and dried off, he couldn't help but grin at the memory of her walking out of the bathroom towards the bed…_their_ bed, the one that they shared…in just a black vest and tiny black shorts with a sexy red trim. His eyes had almost dropped out of his head as they drank in long golden brown legs, the curve of her tight ass, the tiny bit of exposed midriff, her flawless back... He'd damn near lost the ability to speak as all the blood in his body seemed to rush to his lower regions. She'd climbed in and nonchalantly settled herself against his side as she explained how the climate was so much warmer in Florida, which was where they still were, and the heat kept her up at nights. He'd had to manoeuvre his lower body away from hers whilst he willed his rock hard erection to go away! It had taken him forever to fall asleep that night. The feel of her arm on his chest, her right leg between both of his, her upper body pressed along his, his hand gently stroking the skin of her back…he just hadn't been able to resist the urge to lie there and enjoy it for a while…and pretend she was his.

Wrapping the towel around his waist, he began brushing his teeth. He was watching his reflection again as he thought 'everything was going perfectly, but then you had to go and fuck it up by goin' all primal…you really are a dumb ass!' He cursed himself 'she's gonna think you're a sleazy bastard or something for tryina jump from travel buddy to bonk buddy! Shit!' he panicked, she probably thought that just cause they'd been sending one another signals, he'd cockily assumed she'd be up for roll in the sack 'I have to apologise, but how the hell do I explain that I was actin on some kinda instinct, that it wasn't like I did it on purpose? That I'd never force myself on her, I love her dammit!' as his agitation grew, he scrubbed harder and harder, his gums beginning to bleed a little from the pressure he exerted on the brush. When the pain finally registered through his emotion, he spat into the basin and rinsed his mouth clean before letting out a long sigh. 'Such a fuckin' screw up!' he thought dejectedly, his head bowed, eyes closed 'if only she hadn't purred and did all that shit back, I might not have lost it…' his head jerked up and his eyes widened as realisation dawned.

'Wait a minute…that's right! she was just as involved as I was…it's not _all _my fault, she's just as much to blame!' he felt the guilty tension in his body ease off a little 'she was giving as good as she got, hell she encouraged me..lickin and purrin like that…what else was I supposed to do?' he reasoned, trying to justify his own actions. 'Ha! She can't kick my ass now!' he thought, relief flowing through him 'not when I can tell her she wasn't exactly a reluctant participant!' he smirked. However, the relief and the smirk soon dissipated when he heard the pounding on the door and Max's angry yell telling him to get out. Like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming juggernaut…he flinched at his impending doom.

Max hammered the door once more and stood back, one hand on her hip. "Asshole…chickenshit…soldier boy, my ass!" she muttered under her breath. A moment later, the door unlocked and opened slowly. Max hadn't really thought about what she was doing, she hadn't known what she was expecting to happen when she confronted him but as her eyes met his she felt her confidence abandon her. Fear, uncertainty, embarrassment all hit her at once and as her eyes darted down, taking in the rest of him, desire flooded through her leaving her trembling. She wrapped her arms around her sides, whether it was to stop the trembling or to prevent herself from reaching out to touch him, she wasn't really sure.

Alec cautiously stepped out into the room, catching her eye for a moment before looking away, wondering how badly she was going to rearrange his features, his body tense. When no blows came, he looked back at her and saw she was unable to look at him and it hurt him; it hurt to know that things had grown so complicated between them. He wished he knew how to get things back to how they were, but a time machine was something even a guy with his IQ couldn't conjure up. Max waited impatiently for him to speak, to say the right thing as always, to make things right again, but he wasn't forthcoming. Unwilling and unable to speak past her feelings herself, she simply grabbed her things and walked past him, keeping her body a safe distance away from his, locking the door behind her. She needed to think.

Surprised by her reactions, Alec stared at the washroom door for a long moment 'what the hell?' he wondered. He had been afraid that they'd screwed up their relationship but somehow, he hadn't been prepared for the reality of it…a part of him had hoped they'd both be able to pretend it had never happened. Feeling numb, he pulled out clean clothes and got dressed. He heard the shower turn on as he began packing their things and he let out a shaky breath. Losing his sense of connection and closeness to Max made him almost want to cry. His sadness turning to bitterness, he shoved their things into the bags angrily, taking out his frustration 'why is she blaming me? I didn't mean it to happen! And it's not like it was just me!' by the time he heard the shower turn off, he had grown so angry, with Max, with himself, with the complicated nature of their relationship even without this added hurdle, that he decided that he wouldn't let her push them back to square one, not without a fight.

When Max stepped under the soothing spray of the shower, she pressed her hands to the tiled wall, holding her arms out in front of her and bowing her head. Wishing the water could wash away her sadness. As the water ran down the length of her body and fell from her wet hair, she released her pent up emotions, fat teardrops falling from her eyes and swirling with the water at her feet. Her heart ached. She was going to lose Alec…over what? A few minutes of stupid feline DNA induced intimacy? She shook her head angrily 'No...No way, I'm not losing him over this bitch'

When Max finally emerged from the bathroom, her determination was in full force. As was Alec's. Both were ready to confront one another and salvage things. He was leaning against the headboard of the bed, the TV remote in his hand though it no longer held his attention. Max walked over and sat on the far end of the bed, needing the little bit of distance between them right now. Licking her lips, she began "Alec, about earlier… I'm…I'm sorry okay?" that had Alec sitting up straighter 'Max is apologing? Maybe I won't need to fight her' He listened intently. She sighed, her fingers playing with a thread on her jeans "I don't really know what happened to me back there...it.. it was like it wasn't even me" Suddenly, she felt Alec's hand reach out and still hers "It was the same for me too…I wasn't aware of what I was doing…I'm sorry…that I freaked you out" he added the last part, needing to know if she had indeed been scared off by his actions. She shook her head and gave him a sad smile "you really didn't know what you were doing either? She asked. He shook his head "No Max, I swear..I would never do that to you" she nodded her head to show she knew he meant it. She knew she should have been feeling glad that he didn't blame her and that she couldn't blame him but for some strange reason, she was feeling oddly disappointed.

"It felt like…like maybe it was the animal side of me taking over"

"I thought maybe it was the cat DNA in us"

"I dunno, whatever it was, it was….instinctive almost"

She nodded her head again "yeah, it felt…" 'Right, it felt so right' her heart was screaming "something like that, y'know" she ended lamely.

"So…Are we cool Maxie?" Alec asked softly, his head leaning in and tilting up to catch her eyes. She wouldn't meet his eyes; afraid he would see her disappointment in her face and got up from the bed, walking to her bag, keeping her back towards him. She shrugged as she knelt down to put her wash bag away "Yeah sure, everything's still the same" she replied in a flippant manner 'but it's not the same…it wont ever be and you know it!' her mind screamed.

Alec watched her walk away, heard her words and felt his heart sink. 'We can't just go back to how we were…at least I can't...I can't settle for that, not anymore.' To hell with pride and fear of rejection, right there, in that moment, he couldn't give a damn what the consequences of his next words were.

"What if I don't want it to be?" he whispered, just loud enough for her to hear.

She froze in her crouched position, her heart starting to pump faster. She swallowed hard "what do you mean?" she asked softly. She heard him get up off the bed and she stood and turned around to face him.

He walked over to stand in front of her, green eyes shining with sincerity and courage. He raised a hand to stroke his fingers down the side of her face as he spoke again, his voice low "I mean I don't want us to go back to how things were before" Confused eyes locked onto his and he held her gaze even though he was nervous as hell. "I know what happened earlier was out of our control and I know it was all wrong and shouldn't have happened, but to me…..it felt right"

There, just like that, it was out now and suddenly Alec felt a ton lighter. Even if she kicked his ass and rebuffed him, at least he didn't have to keep it locked in anymore "I understand if you don't feel the same way Max. I know you have feelings for Logan, but he's not here and I can't pretend anymore…I can't go on hiding the fact that I…..I feel something for you" he whispered. 'I _know_ you feel something for me too…please Max, just let it be enough…pick me' his heart silently begged. His eyes watched her face, wanting to read her reaction.

Max couldn't believe her ears. Here was Alec, telling her he wanted something more. Reaching up, her hand stroked his jaw "Alec…" she faltered. Licking her lips she tried again "Alec, I think…I might feel something for you too" as soon as she said it, she wanted to jump up and down and crow victoriously, she was so happy!

Alec's eyes widened with surprise, part of him still not believing that his stubborn Maxie had just admitted having feelings for him.

**Piano intro – I'm Kissing You by Des'ree**

Cupping her face with both hands, tilting her face up, he smiled a genuine, relieved smile. Feeling elated and relieved that they had both stopped pussyfooting around and just admitted to their changing feelings, Max couldn't help but smile back.

**Pride can stand a thousand trials  
The strong will never fall**

Still holding her head in his hands, Alec closed his eyes and rubbed his cheek against hers, nuzzling her face with his nose before pressing his forehead to hers and asking softly

**But watching stars without you,  
My soul cried. **

"Maxie?"

"Hmmm?"

"Can I kiss you?"

She pulled away to look at him, his hesitant eyes watching hers. He licked his lips nervously 'was that too fast?' he wondered.

**Heaving heart is full of pain,  
**

Even though she was an emotional wreck given the course of the morning, and there really was alot more to say, there wasn't anything she wanted more right now than to kiss him. Gazing into his eyes, she nodded her head and breathed out an "Okay."

**Oh, oh, the aching.**

Slowly, Alec brought his lips to hers. As they felt warm breath against their skin, their eyes slid shut and both their hearts skipped a beat. And then, he was pressing his lips to hers, in a soft, sweet kiss.

**'Cause I'm kissing you, oh.**

He drew back a little before pressing his lips to her full ones more insistently, feasting on them.

**I'm kissing you, oh.**

Max felt her legs tremble as his soft lips rubbed against hers and gasped when his tongue flicked out to lap at her lips, seeking entrance.

**Touch me deep, pure and true**

As the kiss deepened, they lost themselves to the taste of the other. His hands dropped from her face to wrap under her arms and over shoulders, pulling her body closer. One hand still cupping his jaw, she brought the other up around his neck to the back of his head, her fingers caressing his barcode.

**Gift to me forever.**

She didn't want him to ever stop. She sent her tongue snaking inside his mouth to duel with his and her ears picked up his low groan. She smiled against his lips.

**'Cause I'm kissing you, oh  
**

Sucking on her tongue lightly, Alec swallowed her soft moan of pleasure. One hand reached up to fist in her hair as he slanted his mouth over hers to deepen the kiss further

**I'm kissing you, oh.**

Parting only briefly for air, they met again in another deeper, passionate kiss. Their senses swimming in one another, they hungrily drank from one another's mouths.

A/N: Yay!! Finally!! Gosh this was really quite hard to write!! This is for you Bullet – hope y'all like it though! I wasn't gonna use a song in this chap I swear, but I think it helps the visualisation of the kiss scene! Don't worry bout them not sharing the extent of their feelings….That's still to come!


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